Malleus Maleficarum
by NovaFloresca
Summary: The Walpurgisnacht at an end, but it appears the Mitikahara crew's troubles have only just begun. Their actions have attracted all kinds of unwelcome attention, and this time the enemies play by a whole different set of rules.
1. Killer Doll

Malleus Maleficarum

A quarter of a circle is 90 degrees of arc. 90 degrees is a separation great enough to spare those who would otherwise have died, and a turn sufficient to release a lock. But what may lie behind the door, and should things which were sealed away with lock and key be released?

**Episode 1 : Killer Doll**

The first day of the new school term dawned clear and sunny. Madoka Kaname yawned and stretched and reveled in her familiar surroundings. _Well, this is certainly better than how last term started! _It seemed little more than a bad dream now, easily dismissed, but during the course of the previous term Madoka and her friends had been subjected to a parade of horror, misery, and death, all thanks to a strange little creature known as Kyubey.

_For such a sinister little creature, he sure managed to look like a cute stuffed animal!_ Madoka giggled at the thought; indeed, Kyubey had spent much time in Madoka's room, sleeping amongst her collection of stuffed animals. But Kyubey had also been changed radically by the events which led the Puella Magi to triumph over the horrific power of Walpurgisnacht. What had the pink-haired girl giggling on this morning was the thought of the now-altered Incubator, or Nova as she called herself now, trying to make a bed out of Madoka's stuffed animals. _She would do it, too._ Madoka giggled again- Nova Floresca might be biologically human, but she still had some quirks which needed to be ironed out.

Thinking about the white-haired girl brought to mind an image of Nova being pried out of her nest with a combination of bribery ("I'll make your favorite pickle-and-cheese sandwich for lunch!") and bludgeoning ("Out! Out! We'll be late, sleepy head!") which made Madoka smile. What she was seeing was actually an impression of what was happening over at Mami Tomoe's apartment. During the battle of Walpurgisnacht, the eight Puella Magi of Mitikahara had linked their Soul Gems together to wield the power needed to defeat the uber-Witch. The connection had several lasting effects, one of which being that the girls all shared an empathic link with which they could communicate thoughts and feelings.

Madoka contemplated the girl who had discovered the connection with a fond smile and a shake of her head. Her first meeting with Kyōko Sakura had been, well, ugly. The gluttonous, carefree girl with the wine-red hair had pounced on Sayaka Miki, Madoka's oldest friend and attempted to kill her in order to "secure" the territory of Mitikahara as her own private hunting grounds as a Puella Magi. _Nowadays, well Sayaka might scream like she's being killed, but for different reasons._ Madoka chuckled at herself for the deliciously naughty thought. The delinquent thief and the self-proclaimed Knight of Justice had fallen for each other, hard, and had taken to expressing their love for each other with an enthusiasm that could put blushes on the faces of the other Puella Magi even when not in the same room. _Just because Homura and I aren't as noisy, doesn't mean we're not in love!_

And there was the most amazing thing to come out of the trials of the previous term, in Madoka's mind at least- Homura Akemi. The cool, mysterious black-haired girl had been stuck in an endless loop, trying to save Madoka from the fate of becoming a Puella Magi herself. _Instead, I saved Homura-chan from herself. _Madoka lifted her left hand and admired the elegant ring on her middle finger. _And I broke Kyubey in the process_.

Madoka herself had caused the profound change of heart in their Incubator which led to the creation of Nova, but her timely intervention against Walpurgisnacht had yielded other benefits as well: The white-haired girl's cheating of the system had rescued Mami Tomoe from the clutches of death, along with another Puella Magi named Ami Hikaru. Mami was a tall, cool blonde who had first introduced Madoka and Sayaka to the world of the Puella Magi, and then been slain by the Witch of desserts, Charlotte. Ami, meanwhile, was the Puella Magi who had become Charlotte, and in fact the small peach-haired girl now answered to that name instead of the one she had been born with. Considering the unfortunate circumstances which led to her becoming a Puella Magi and then a Witch, Madoka didn't blame the girl in the slightest. Charlotte currently lived with Mami and Nova in the blonde's spacious apartment, under a simple arrangement; Mami gave Charlotte cheesecake, and Charlotte gave Mami her undying adoration. As she could sense all of her friends were awake and active, Madoka decided it was time to roll out of bed to get ready for the first day of the new term. _Together, we beat the Walpurgis! Compared to that, highschool is nothing. Magical Girls, ready and charge!_

The first task on Madoka's morning checklist was to rouse her mother. True to form, Madoka's mother Junko was still entombed in blankets and took considerable prodding before she too was willing to enter the world of the wakeful. This was not a surprise for the pink-haired girl, which is why she always allotted extra time for the chore. If Junko happened to rise early, it was then just a pleasant bonus. Madoka loved her mother, and knew the morning routine was part of her way of coping with the terrific responsibility rested upon her by the company she worked for. The surprise came during their ritual mother-daughter chat.

"So, when are you going to bring her home so we can meet her?" Madoka just about swallowed her toothbrush when she heard the question.

"Eee?! What do you mean?"

"I saw the look on your face when you left to go on that beach trip with your friends. That was the look of a young woman going courting, and I know it!" Junko favored her daughter with an impish smile. "So which one is the lucky girl?"

"It's Homura-chan." Madoka finally replied, with downcast eyes.

"Oh, good!" Here the pink-haired girl gave her mother a look out of the corner of her eye with a raised eyebrow. "Oh, shush you. I know all your friends are good people, and you know your mother would cheer you on, no matter which one you picked. It's just that I'll cheer you on a lot more with Homura-chan than with that catlike delinquent girl." There was only one thing Madoka could say to that.

"Um, which one?"

"The red-haired one, Kyōko isn't it? She still has that look of an alley cat to her, that 'I'm going to do the opposite of what you want just to see what you'll do' attitude. The other one has more of a ferret-y feel about her, I think." Madoka snickered at the honest assessment of her friends.

"Actually, Sayaka got Kyōko."

"Ahh! That's a regular Romeo and Juliet pairing, isn't it?"

"That's them, all right!" Madoka agreed.

* * *

Just outside the main gate of Mitikahara Student Academy, Madoka met up with the rest of the Puella Magi, and there she caught up with the most taciturn member of the circle: Hitomi Shizuki. The quiet green-haired girl had been approached by Kyubey in a moment of weakness and became a Puella Magi in order to win her friends' respect. After being set straight, however, Hitomi became a reliable and powerful member of the team. _Maybe that's why Nova is so weird_, mused Madoka. After becoming human, the ex-Incubator had spent a considerable time apologizing to the Puella Magi whom she had deceived or otherwise manipulated into their positions. For the first full week Nova ended up bowing in apology to at least one person in every conversation, which was an amusing sight to behold considering the white-haired girl wore her hair in a fat inkbrush ponytail and long sidelocks, mimicking her appearance as an Incubator. _All that time bowing must've let the blood rush to her head and boiled her brains._ The other Puella Magi laughed as they picked up the comment through the empathic link. The summer break had given the girls time to gain more control over their communal link, to where they could somewhat tune each other out, but when all together like this, the link became as loud and prominent as their own voices.

"I know you're concerned since you'll be in a different division from us, Charlotte-san, but you have to go. You'll be okay; Saotome-sensei is a nice person." Mami put her hands on the younger girl's shoulders and guided her forward toward the gate, but Charlotte shook her head vigorously, making the long mismatched red and blue streamers which tied up her hair flap about. Charlotte was a year younger than the rest of the Puella Magi, which meant that she was still going to middle school this term while the others were now 1st year (or 2nd in Mami's case) high-school students. _Charlotte-san, you know you can feel us and we can feel you, _Mami sent over the link, with the other Puella Magi chiming in to the affirmative. _You won't be alone in there, __I promise. However;_ Mami then put a surprising bit of steel in her "voice" as she showed the stick which went along with the carrot: _That also means we can tell where you are. There will be no cheesecake on days where you skip class._

"Yahhh!" shouted the peach-haired girl in fright. "I'm going! I'm going! Evil! Mami-san is evil!" Charlotte stopped to blow a raspberry at her "big sister" before dashing for the building.

"Brrr!" exclaimed Sayaka all of a sudden. "That's weird!" This got looks of mild concern from the other Puella Magi and the blunette shook her head to clear it before explaining. "For a moment, I felt like I was being watched." Sayaka gazed up at the skyline, but she could discern no reason for the strange feeling and so dismissed it.

* * *

In fact, Sayaka and the other Puella Magi had been under observation, although it would not have been revealed by something so casual as looking around. However, the surveillance was now at an end.

"My apologies, onee-sama. I could not continue sensing at that range any longer." The 'elder sister' looked down at her winded companion and nodded.

"Very well. It appears at least one of the foe was aware of what you were doing in any case." This drew an exclamation of shock from the smaller of the two observers. "We shall have to rely on_ that_ person to do her job if we are to succeed at our task."

"I wish that I could express confidence in her ability to do so."

"As do I."

* * *

Classes went surprisingly smoothly for a first day, and soon the Magical Girls were regrouping in the lunchroom to compare notes about the situation.

"I don't like the new girl." Kyōko scowled as she plowed into her lunch. "Sunny or Catchy or whatthefuckever her name is."

"Oh come off it, you just don't like her because she's not in the Harem." Sayaka teased. This caused Kyōko to snort- at the end of the previous year's C term, the Magical Girls had been renamed to 'the Harem' by some of the sharper of the wagging tongues, although who exactly was supposed to be in said harem and who was reaping the benefits was never quite explained. The only girl who definitely wasn't in the Harem was Charlotte- the one time it had been suggested, the little peach-haired girl hadn't understood the meaning, and then burst into tears when it had been explained in great details by one of the Magical Girls' chief detractors.

The bearer of that bad news, Akiko Tomohara, had come to Mitikahara Student Academy the next day looking extremely unwell. A tale was told of ambush, and wicked and unjust violence being heaped upon her person in great quantities, but the Tea Ceremony Club swore up and down that their beloved Captain Hitomi Shizuki had been with them practicing all evening, and that her busted knuckles were the result of a tragic slip and fall in the clubroom. The message was received loud and clear, and no one bothered the littlest Puella Magi again.

"So yeah, I don't like the new girl. She's perky and happy and arrgh! We don't need another Mossy around here, no offense Mossy." Hitomi just chuckled, as she was too well acquainted with the redhead's mannerisms to take offense at this stage. "And there's something weird about her too, like she's just playing the part of a schoolgirl for a TV show or something. And honestly, I've seen better acting during the day shift at Kageyama- er, I mean-" Sayaka flicked Kyōko's nose to cut her off.

"Hey, it's no concern of mine what delinquencies you may or may not take part in so long as you don't bring anything or anyone funny home." replied the blunette with a smirk.

"Uh, Blueberry? Little late for that." Kyōko angled her thumb at the end of the table. Nova looked up to see Kyōko pointing at her and replied with a confused "Huh?" which caused Sayaka to crack up.

"Although between that and this morning, I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this term." Sayaka squeezed an innocent sushi roll to death for emphasis.

"The hell? Don't go all weird on me now Blueberry. We kicked Walpurgis' ass, and the only Witches who have shown up lately are so weak even one of those happy-go-lucky shōjo anime Puella Magi could beat 'em. What could possibly go wrong?"

"Sanae Kochiya." was Homura's addition to the conversation when she sat down.

"Gesundheit, Homerun!" was Sayaka's response, which merited only a single eyeroll from the black-haired Puella Magi.

"That is the name of the new transfer student, and there is most definitely something unusual about her." Homura twisted the amythist seal around her left middle finger for emphasis.

"Arrrgh! I knew it! We're doomed!" exclaimed Sayaka. Kyōko reached up and grabbed a handful of Sayaka and hauled the blunette back down into her seat. Sayaka wasn't taking the hint, so when she went to inhale for another outburst, Kyōko did the expedient thing and stuck her tongue into the blunette's mouth! Sayaka's eyes went wide and angry, but that didn't seem to keep her from enjoying the embrace for a moment before breaking off. "Gah! You're horrible! Is this your plan, to embarrass me in front of the whole school so I'm forced to quit the Academy and become a delinquent alongside you?!"

"I apologize for dispelling your delusions, 'Blueberry'," Homura put a sneer upon the nickname, clearly annoyed that Kyōko's obnoxious habit of renaming everyone around her was spreading. "But the student body of Mitikahara Student Academy is quite inured to your antics. I highly doubt there is anything you could do while still fully dressed that would shock anyone here. For the record, that is not an invitation to try and prove me wrong. Remove anything in public and I will _end_ you." Homura pointed with her chopsticks at the girl she considered to be the most likely culprit, and so Kyōko scarfed the dumpling off the offending sticks in retribution.

"Aw, jeez Homerun, what crawled up your skirt and bit you?"

"Huh?" interjected Madoka, which caused the other Puella Magi to break down giggling, and even Homura felt a bit of smile breaking her temper. Nova took a bite of her sandwich so no one could see her grinning and slid her hand back from where she had poked the pink-haired girl to provoke her reaction.

_Now, levity aside, _sent Homura when the laughter died down. _This new situation will bear watching._

_So is she a new Puella Magi trying to move in on the territory? _Having another of their kind show up in Mitikahara was foremost among the girls' worries- while there were a few pure-hearted allies of justice like Mami and Sayaka amongst the Puella Magi as a whole, most prized efficiency over kindness, and compared to some whom Nova knew about, Kyōko at her worst still looked like a saint.

_No. Whoever Sanae is, she is no Puella Magi. If anything, I would be tempted to classify her as a Familiar, but the pattern of her magic is like nothing I have ever seen. _This caused a few worried looks around the table- even though she was now reformed, Homura had spent over a thousand lifetimes trying to save Madoka from her fate, and for nothing like this to have cropped up over the course of all those cycles was worrysome indeed.

_So what than shall we do?_ Technically speaking, it wasn't like the Puella Magi _had_ to do anything about the situation. This Sanae might simply be a plain schoolgirl with an unusual touch of the supernatural about her. And, Madoka might suddenly sprout bird-wings and fly to school tomorrow. It was theoretically possible.

_I have a crazy idea . . ._ Madoka interjected into the link, and all eyes turned upon the pink-haired girl. _We could try just _asking_ her what's up? What! We could!_ Madoka added, trying to refute the dubious looks coming her way.

* * *

In the end, Madoka got her wish, and at the end of the day she approached Sanae with a cheerful smile. "Good afternoon, Kochiya-san!" The green-haired newcomer turned to see who had addressed her, and immediately Madoka had her answer about the situation. _Yep, she's definitely trouble. Nobody with hair decorations like that could possibly be normal! _The decorations in question were a frog hairpin on the left side of her head, and Sanae had some of her hair pulled into a sidelock wound up with a wiry silver tie shaped to look like a snake of all things, and she had also replaced the the standard red bow tie which came with the uniform with one in a light blue- Madoka was surprised the girl had gotten away with that, but the color seemed to fit her so well it looked like it belonged, and admittedly the stock red bow would've clashed horribly with Sanae's bright green hair. _Or maybe we've just caused such a ruckus this last term they're starting to let things slide._ The thought made the pink-haired girl shiver slightly- not even the Walpurgis was sufficient excuse to do away with discipline.

"Can I help you?" Sanae was brusque and businesslike, and Madoka immediately took a bit of a dislike to the green-haired girl. _Now, now, Kyōko was just as bad, no, worse when you first met her!_

"Hi, my name is Madoka Kaname, and I'm p-part of the welcoming committee for transfer students. I wanted to see if you were settling in well? Have you found any clubs you'd like to join?"

"Yeah, everything's fine. Now if you'll excuse me, I really need to get going . . ." Sanae turned away from the conversation, but Madoka noticed the girl with the bright green hair left a lingering glance upon Madoka's left hand before turning away. _She recognized my seal! I'm sure of it. Okay everyone, now I'm starting to get worried._ The last bit went out over the link, and was reflected by several "voices" sounding off in agreement.

_Now we do this the hard way,_ sent Homura. _Mami Tomoe, if you would accompany me please?_

* * *

"So when are you gonna admit I was right all along?" Kyōko muttered as she peered over the edge of a rooftop to get her bearings. The redhead and Sayaka were shadowing Mami and Homura, who in turn were shadowing Sanae in an attempt to determine what the green-haired girl's problem was.

"Oh, I dunno, just as soon as you admit you're actually worried about Teacup and Homerun?" Kyōko whirled around, ready to refute the charge, but she couldn't say it to Sayaka's determined face.

"Yeah, okay. I'm worried sick about those two. There, are you happy?"

"No, not really." Sayaka frowned. "I'll be happy when we're all sitting in Mami's apartment tonight eating cake and talking about how stupid that greenie is."

"Yeah, me too." Kyōko took the blunette's hand in her own. "Now come on, we gotta keep up. Can't leap in to save the day if we lag too far behind!"

* * *

Outwardly, Sanae Kochiya looked like any of the hundreds of other happy-go-lucky schoolgirls streaming home over the course of the afternoon, although not many Mitikahara Student Academy girls would be found out here on the outskirts of town where her apartment was located. On the inside however, the young shrine maiden was fuming. First and foremost there was an uncomfortable realization; _I can't do the Outside World anymore!_ Just two years ago, Sanae and her patron deity Kanako had packed up shop and retreated to Gensokyo after growing tired of the effects of a "starvation diet" of faith. When she had first arrived in the Land of Illusion, Sanae had been extremely dismissive of the "backwards" people of Gensokyo and had sought to bring them enlightenment both figurative, and literal once they had a set up a powerplant for electricity. The thought of _that_ debacle still brought a flush of shame to Sanae's cheeks, adding to the foulness of her mood, which had been steadily crashing ever since arriving in Mitikahara. _I can't stand the smell, I can't stand the noise, I can't stand the buildings, and I. Hate. Cars!_ Sanae shook her head. _Kanako-sama, give me strength, for I just want to burn this place down and go _home_! And the first thing I do when I get home, I'm going kick that red-and-white bitch's ass! _And_ Yukari's while I'm at it! God-damned lazy bitch, solve your own problems for once!_

The problem in question had actually surfaced some months ago, when a powerful emanation of magic had rocked Gensokyo. While the various communities in Gensokyo had assigned the cause to one of the usual suspects ("Marisa had gotten hold of something she really shouldn't have"/"The Nineballs had gotten hold of something they really shouldn't have"/"Kaguya and Mokou were feuding again", take your pick or roll a die), Yukari had convened a meeting of the heads of the various "power groups" within Gensokyo to inform them of what had happened. It had . . . not gone well. Yuyuko Saigouji had shown up promptly, but that was not surprising, seeing as how the Princess of the Netherworld was a close friend of the Youkai of the Border, and furthermore Yuyuko could be counted on to show up anywhere and even feign attention if one simply piled up enough food in one place. Likewise Byakuren Hijiri had attended, both because the conference was being held at her Myouren Temple (chosen on account of it being the least hostile location with sufficient seating), but also Byakuren was a sucker and could be led into anything by piling up a nice collection of sob stories right next to Yuyuko's "Pay Attention Buffet". Sanae of course had been there- Moriya Shrine was going to be _the_ center of power in Gensokyo if she and Kanako had anything to say about it, and so showing the flag at events like these was vital. And of course Reimu Hakurei had shown up in representation of Hakurei Shrine and the interests (or rather the studious _dis_interest) of the Human Village.

Sanae snorted. _Calling that red-white's little shack a Shrine is like calling Cirno a natural disaster!_ From there, things had gone downhill, quickly. Remilia Scarlet had shown up in person, but the little vampire made it obvious that she was just looking for an excuse to get out of the house, and couldn't even be bothered to politely feign interest in what was going on. (_At least she didn't do something really stupid, like send Flandre!_ Sanae still cringed at the possibility.) Eientei had sent Reisen, which indicated exactly how many fucks they did not give about the situation. And then there had been the representative from the Palace of the Earth Spirits. Sanae shook her head as she remembered the arrival of "Hell's Traffic Accident" herself.

_The door burst open suddenly, nearly jumping its' tracks as Rin Kaenbyou threw open the panel. The kasha hadn't even bothered actually setting foot in the room and just stood in the doorway smoldering with anger. "We don't know what happened, we didn't do it, and if anyone tries to pin this shit on us, we'll kill you and stuff your corpse in the fucking reactor, got it? Good!" And then the door had slammed shut as quickly as it had opened and Rin stomped off, making full use of her innate feline ability to make each step sound like it came from an elephant wearing concrete kneeboots._

_"Well that was, er, abrupt." Byakuren had remarked after the crashing and banging ended._

The meeting had taken just an afternoon, and the plan was in place. The pissing and moaning over who should be sent, however, had taken weeks. Sanae, of course, had been a lock from day 1; never mind her opinion of the Moriya Shrine's place in the scheme of things, she was the only one with any practical Outside World experience. From there, it had been mainly a matter of getting people to accept who could _not_ go. Byakuren wanted to send Shou, and Sanae would have loved to have Momiji along (reliable _and_ capable! that would have been a nice change!); however, unless the disturbance was in the middle of Akihabara, none of the more monstrous youkai were going to escape notice for more than five minutes. Marisa Kirisame would gladly have gone along, and indeed she had volunteered herself, despite her having been specifically excluded from the meeting. Sanae shook her head. _I'd take Nue _and_ Flandre before I take the Starlight Berzerker!_

In the end, it had come down to just three: Sanae herself, Youmu Konpaku, and Sakuya Izayoi, and Sanae strongly suspected the latter two had been pushed forward mainly because their mistresses wanted them to bring back trinkets from the Outside World. And there was the rest of the problem- while Yukari had been able to deposit the team in the Outside World easily enough, she and Reimu had insisted on setting up a means of instant communication, "in case it was needed." The method chosen amounted to sticking all three of the party with charms attuned to the Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb. Unfortunately, from Sanae's point of view, the Big Ball of Bullshit Hax had considerable power behind it, and that meant Reimu could contact the outside team anywhere, anytime, even when Sanae tried to shield herself, and the green-haired shrine maiden was getting sick of answering the near-hourly check-in calls. And so Sanae stomped determinedly along, towards her apartment, blissfully unaware of her pursuers.

Sakuya Izayoi was no more sanguine about the mission than Sanae was, if for different reasons. The Outside World was really not so much different than Gensokyo when one pared it down; a hostile, claustrophobic environment where one was either the hunter or the hunted, and Sakuya was well versed in playing the role of hunter. Currently, she was waiting outside the apartment building for Sanae to returned, dressed in what was this world's equivalent of tiger's stripes- a close-fitting black coat and matching razor-creased pants over a crisp white dress shirt, narrow black tie, thin black leather gloves, black wingtip shoes, and a black fedora tipped low over her head, hiding her eyes from direct contact with the world around her. Prey animals and lesser predators didn't like it when they knew you could track them even without seeing them.

The reason Sakuya had joined this excursion was pure survivalism- her mistress had been forced to pack up her entire estate and move within the bounds of Gensokyo due to threats from the mundane world. If that world could now shake even the foundations of Gensokyo itself, they needed to know and be proactive, lest history repeat itself. That didn't mean Sakuya was happy with the mission, or her partners. Youmu Konpaku she respected because of the half-phantom's skill with the sword, but in the mind of the chief maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, there was a line between being obedient to your mistress and being a gormless doormat. Youmu fell on the wrong side of that line. And then there was Sanae. Brash, arrogant Sanae. The green-haired girl saw the Hakurei shrine maiden as both a rival to be destroyed and a wretch upon whom to shower contempt, and that proved in Sakuya's mind at least that the girl was as childish and naive as the schoolgirl she was pretending to be. _Speaking of which . . ._ Sakuya drew a large golden pocketwatch out from her coat and consulted the indicated time. Sure enough, here came the green-haired girl, stomping down the street in a huff. And to Sakuya's dismay, she had pursuers.

"Kochiya-san," Sakuya called out, loud enough to carry down the block and get the shrine-maiden's attention. "Welcome home. Would you care to introduce your friends to me?"

"Huh?" was all the reply that Sanae gave, but the two figures up on the rooftop both froze at the call. "What are you talking about, friends?"

"Since your two pursuers were being so blatant," replied Sakuya. "I figured they must simply be friends you became acquainted with at school who were simply indulging in some odd travel habits. Surely you didn't simply let our targets follow you home without noticing?" There was killing cold in the maid's voice, and Sanae was struck dumb by the realization.

Mami and Homura took that as their cue to enter the field. Both girls jumped down from the three-story roof in their Puella Magi regalia. Sakuya remained impassive, although she was a bit impressed that the intruders would announce themselves so boldly. "Good evening, Kochiya-san, and who might you be?" Mami was nothing if not polite.

BGM: ziki_7 - AKAMETAL - "Thor -alpha break VI-"

"My name is Sakuya Izayoi, and this is Youmu Konpaku," Sakuya extended a hand to indicate her other companion, who stepped out from the lee of the apartment, wearing a samurai's hakama and her trademark pair of swords.

"Mami Tomoe, and this is Homura Akemi. Might I inquire as to what brings you to Mitikahara?"

"We sensed a significant magical disturbance some time ago and have come to see that whatever caused it is neutralized." Sakuya made clear with her tone of voice what and how that was to happen.

"Oh. Then you have my apologies," replied Mami with a curtsey. "But we have no wish to be 'neutralized'." As she spoke, the blonde Puella Magi swept up two of the cocked-and-locked muskets which had fallen from her skirt when she curtseyed, raised the muzzles to aim directly at Sakuya's heart and fired.

* * *

"We should get down there!" said Sayaka as she watched Mami light off the first shots of the fight. The whole street seemed to explode with sound and fury, bullets, arrows, knives and paper charms flying in all directions.

"Hang on," replied Kyōko as she bit into a candy bar. "I wanna see how they fight, and wait for the best moment to jump in."

"Hey, that's not very sporting!" Sayaka slugged Kyōko in the arm, causing the redhead to almost choke on her snack.

"Hey, what the hell Blueberry? First, don't make me choke, and second, 'unsporting' would be waiting till the intruders went to bed and then firebombing their apartment and then hosing down the survivors with machineguns as they tried to escape. This is just being clever."

"Bah," replied the blunette.

* * *

Down on the street, things were not going exceptionally well for the Puella Magi. Sakuya appeared to be glitched- she would jerk from place to place, frustrating the normally-calm Mami as she attempted to put a shot into the silver-haired maid. And Youmu was horrifically fast- Homura had given up trying to directly tag the swordswoman with a shot and was just trying to keep her away from Mami, who had discovered just how sharp the half-ghost's swords were when she blocked a slash with an empty musket, only to have it cleaved in half _down the length of the barrel_ by Youmu's katana. And Sanae was just plain cheating as she shot beams of acid-green light which _slithered_ through the air, making them near-impossible to dodge. Mami and Homura were already sporting a couple of burn marks each from where those beams had grazed them.

"Ya know, I think now might be a very clever time to jump in," said Kyōko as she stuffed the rest of her candy bar into her gob and pounced from the rooftop. At that moment, Sanae was busy disengaging from a clever hand-off that had Homura pinning down Sakuya for a moment while Mami tried her best to blast the shrine maiden to bits. Suddenly the blonde gunner was rolling out from beneath a vicious one-two combo from Youmu and Sanae breathed a sigh of relief- only to be cut off by Kyōko dropping almost on top of her. "Sup?" snarled the redhead before crossing her swords and doing her best to the shrine maiden's head off.

Homura's eyes narrowed as she watched Sakuya glitch out of another barrage, only to leave a spray of wicked-edged knives coming at her from all angles, only to ping off her blue-haired companion's shield as the Knight of Justice interposed herself. _Took you two long enough. Sayaka, think you can get the wannabe-yakuza riled up? I know what she's doing. _

At the same moment, Kyōko's presence reminded Mami of something, and she favored Youmu with a nasty smile as the swordswoman turned for another strike. Youmu dashed in with blurring speed once more, a corner of her mind noting that the blonde hadn't even drawn another of her endless supply of muskets yet. As she passed by, Youmu noticed with some distaste that _Roukanken _bit nothing but air once again; if nothing else the gunner was good at dodging. This time however, Mami's own attack hadn't missed- Youmu was too focused on the attack to notice the ribbon which Mami trailed behind her, and the ribbon suddenly and tenaciously adhered to the half-phantom's foot. Instantly Youmu was redirected from rushing past her target at racecar speeds . . . to rushing into the pavement at the same speed.

Even as Youmu was being turned, Sanae was descending into a world of seething rage. Kyōko's sudden attack had not managed to hit the shrine maiden, but as she could only duck backward, the swords instead sheared through her serpent hair tie, removing the sidelock and mangling the device itself. Sanae's eyes went wide as she saw the strands of hair drifting on the air.

"Y-you! That was a gift from Kanako-sama!" Sanae snatched out a handful of ofuda charms and hurled them headlong at her red-haired opponent. The shrine maiden's only consideration had been how best to hurt Kyōko, and she succeeded beyond all expectation as one of the magic papers adhered to the glowing red Soul Gem front and center on the Puella Magi's chest. With barely a whispered "oh" Kyōko went blank and limp, flopping suddenly into Sanae's arm like a big puppet with the strings cut.

Sayaka's cry at this unexpected turn of events was enough to break the standoff which had been brewing between Sakuya and Homura. The maid stepped into frozen time even as she saw her foe loose a divided shot, and here Sakuya hurled a fan of knives towards the black-haired Puella Magi, then let time seize control once more as she darted to the right to make another throw- but there was already an arrow there, slashing across the silver-haired fighter's wrist. Sakuya snatched her hand back with a wordless cry and looked to her opponent.

"Time manipulation is such a crude, amateurish trick." said Homura, giving her hair a dismissive flick before nocking another arrow.

"How do you so judge?" asked Sakuya, buying time for the wound to clot.

"Because I once was a crude amateur myself."

_Kyōko! Damnit! Don't fade out on me now! _Sayaka was frantic at the sudden separation, and she was flooding the link with her worried cries. And then, insubstantial as a feather being pressed against plate armor, the blunette felt an answer.

_ ?_

_Yes! I'm here! Where are you!_

Sayaka made the connection as soon as she got a good look at Kyōko and her opponent. _A shrine maiden! If she's got real magic, then those ofuda are the real deal, not just really expensive stamps. KYŌKO! HEAR ME!_

As a traditionally trained priestess of the Shinto religion, Sanae possessed the traditional revulsion for corpses, which had only been strengthened by her time in Gensokyo, where tampering with a corpse was a good way to earn a severe beating when its' owner resurrected. Because of this, she was completely flustered by the fact she was holding what seemed to be a dead body, and was completely unaware of what was happening to her teammates. Or even that the "dead" body was coming back to life.

". . . think I'll call you 'Grassy'," muttered Kyōko as she regained some use of her body. Sanae was seized by panic, which gave the Puella Magi enough time to rip the ofuda off her Soul Gem. Fully back in power, the redhead then grabbed a hold of Sanae's collar. Now all of the Puella Magi would readily agree that "hardheaded" was a good descriptor for Kyōko, but they didn't expect the redhead to demonstrate the quality literally. Nonetheless, Kyōko reared back and headbutted Sanae with all the strength she could muster. The shrine maiden's nose broke with a loud _snap!_ and then it was Sanae's turn to go limp in another's arms. Kyōko dropped the green-haired girl like a moldy sack of rice and drew her swords once more.

Sakuya assessed the situation, and she did not like what she saw. Her side had 66% casualties- Youmu was getting her wits back after her disastrous last attack, but Mami was hovering over her, ready to obliterate the half-ghost if she went for her weapons, and Sanae was down for the count after that hit. It appeared these new enemies were playing for keeps, which meant it was time for Sakuya to start playing games.

A flick of her good wrist drew out a card, but not just any card- this device was a powerful spell bound into physical form. Sakuya chose her targets and then cracked the seal to release the power contained with in. Clouds of conjured daggers exploded outward all around Sakuya from pockets of frozen time, and the Puella Magi were forced to dive for cover lest they get shredded. At this point, Sakuya had two options: she could press the attack, and hope she could win against 4-to-1 odds, or she could gather up her teammates to retreat and determine how best to try again. Considering the damage done, the maid considered retreat to be the more prudent option, so put time aside once more, scooped up her fallen allies, and put as much distance between herself and her opponents as possible.

* * *

"Okay, what the hell was that, and how can we make it never happen again?" Kyōko picked herself up off the ground slowly and painfully, wincing as the many cuts in her skin informed her that she had not in fact dodged everything.

"It appeared to be something like an Ultimate spell bound into an activation token." Homura shook her head. "It also appeared to hurt like a bitch." The black-haired girl flicked out her hair with a casual hand- or tried too. After the barrage of knives, Homura's silky black hair ended just a few inches below her shoulders. An unhealthy tic developed in one eye as Homura held up her Soul Gem and drew upon the power within. In a moment her lacquer-black tresses hung down to their customary length, and Homura gave her hair an irritated flick before putting her Soul Gem away.

Kyōko pondered her own Soul Gem. "Huh. I wonder if-"

"No."

"But I didn't even tell you what I was thinking!"

"But I already know it's going to be a bad idea, so the answer is no." Homura glared at her fellow Puella Magi.

"But what if it was a good idea?"

"_Is_ it a good idea?"

"Well I was thinking, since you can regrow parts using the Soul Gem, can you use it to _improve_ what you already have? Y'know, get a little help . . ." the redhead mimed having a profile more like Mami's than her own.

"No."

"Well you're no fun, Homerun."

"Neither was that battle just now."

"You said it!" Sayaka stood up from where she had contorted herself to cover both her and Mami with as much of her Aegis as possible.

"Shall we return home? I believe there is cake to be had . . . and hot baths." Mami chipped in once she regained her feet.

"Now that right there? Smartest idea I've heard all day!"


	2. Love Sign

**Episode 2 : Love Sign**

Ask anyone who was familiar with Reimu Hakurei what her chief fault was, and almost certainly none of them would respond with "she's too nice." In fact it was common knowledge that the Hakurei shrine maiden was short-tempered, violent, blunt to the point of rudeness, and extremely mercenary in her dealings with her fellow Gensokyans. But just as rot might undercut a mighty oak tree without any outward sign of disease, so to was Reimu's heart being squeezed by the duty currently appointed to her.

Currently the shrine maiden was sitting a vigil, keeping in contact with the party that had been sent to the Outside World to investigate a disturbance on behalf of Yukari Yakumo, the ancient, powerful, and tremendously vexing Border Youkai who was Gensokyo's closest thing to a patron deity. Of the three girls who had been sent, Reimu could be said to have at best cordial relations with two, and the third was actively positioning herself as a rival to the Hakurei shrine maiden. Someone who only knew Reimu by reputation might expect her to be indifferent to the fate of those girls, or possibly cheer for the downfall of her would-be rival, even expect her to sabotage the mission so as to never have to see the three again.

But they would be wrong, and the actual Reimu found herself being torn up by worry. What little had been reported back was encouraging, but not enough to put the shrine maiden at ease, so Reimu went to find something more productive to do with her time.

Reimu's idea of "productive" might more accurately be called "meddling", but in her need for diversion she truly didn't care how she came across, even when sticking her nose into the affairs of beings as touchy and powerful as Alice Margetroid and Marisa Kirisame. _What the hell,_ was Reimu's thought on the matter,_ I've kicked both their asses before and I can do it again if needed._ With that thought in mind, the Haukrei shrine maiden launched herself into the sky. Once she reached altitude, after checking that there were no fairies or bird youkai around to be a bother, Reimu turned and shot off toward the Forest of Magic.

Marisa and Alice were "next-door neighbors" beneath the weird and twisted foliage, which only meant that if an apocalyptic danmaku-duel broke out in the one's front yard, the other _might_ hear some crackling. Reimu had an obvious choice of which house to search first; Marisa's house was thirsty minutes closer from Reimu's starting point than Alice, so Marisa was her first destination, in the hopes of not having to travel any further than absolutely necessary for her entertainment needs.

It turned out that the coinflip was in Reimu's favor for once- the door to Marisa's house was open and the sound of voices arguing carried clear up to where the shrine maiden was hovering. Reimu couldn't quite make out the words, but it was clearly Marisa's gruff soprano and Alice more cultured tone, and just as clearly the two were clashing pretty fiercely. For a moment, the shrine maiden was unsure if entering the den of iniquity before her was wise, or even safe. _Ahh, to hell with it. I'm already here._

As she walked up to the door, Reimu began to hear what was being said, and wished she hadn't. "I do not understand why you are being so unreasonable about this! I've opened my home to you, I've offered to wear The Maid Dress while you were over," _Oookay, that was more than I wanted to know, _thought Reimu with a grimace.

"And I'm just supposed to ditch a chance-of-my-shortass-lifetime opportunity for that? What the hell, ze?"

"Am I really worth so little to you then?"

"What? No, of course not, it's just, you'll always be here, but who knows when the Border Bitch is going to let people go Outside to play again?" Reimu winced in the doorway. Even she knew that wasn't what Alice wanted to hear.

"It appears you have company." Alice pointed at the shrine maiden to draw Marisa's attention to the new arrival. "If you will excuse me," said the magician before calmly, politely storming out of the house.

Marisa rolled her eyes. "Okay, I know the phrase is 'misery loves company', but I've had my fill for one day. The hell do you want?" Reimu put up her hands in placating gesture.

"I was just coming to see how you were doing, is all."

"Well how does it look like I'm doing? I got aced out of going Outside, Alice is pissed at me-"

"That's your own fault, you know!"

"Hey, fuck you too! I actually left more books behind at Patchy's last time then I took with me!" Reimu twitched a bit at hearing that.

"I wouldn't exactly call three doujinshi of extremely suspect subject matter a fair trade of one of Mima's original spellbooks." _Also, memo to self: just shoot Aya the hell down next time she asks for a quote for her "paper."_

"Well one, Patchy asked for them, and two, I helped write that book!"

"You. Wrote in that? I highly doubt it!" the shrine maiden crossed her arms and glared at the blonde witch, but Marisa didn't crack a bit, like she usually did when telling one of her less grounded whoppers.

"Yes I did! I wrote every single word of the 'about the author' blurb in the back!" Reimu looked like she was about either strangle Marisa or just hit the floor laughing. Either way, the blonde witch was unconcerned as she launched further into her tirade. "So you tell me, how am I supposed to earn the trust of all you high-and-mightys if you won't trust me with anything that I can use to prove my trustworthyness?"

Reimu didn't have a good answer for that last charge, so she just changed the subject. "Actually, I was talking about you and Alice, originally."

"Oh. I don't get it, ze. Normally she hardly wants me around, and now she wants to be best buds- wait, what the?" Marisa gave an angry glance at the door, where floated a small object. Upon closer inspection, it was a small doll, maybe 8" tall and dressed in a blue dress with a white cape and a red bow upon its' head. And it was holding a folded up note.

"Hey, what do you want, Shanghai?" Marisa frowned at the doll- it was one of Alice's familiars. Nonplussed, Marisa took the note from the doll's hands and unfolded it. A single phrase was written upon the paper:

_Demonic Control_

_Return Inanimateness_

* * *

Although she was fully capable of flying, Alice Margatroid had decided to walk home after the argument. It gave her sufficient time to think and put aside her frustrations rather than taking out her irritation with the vexing blonde witch on one of her projects. The slow method of travel had the added benefit of letting the puppeteer remain close enough to Marisa's house to hear the _CRUMP!_ as the Spell Card she had left behind went off.

* * *

"Ahh! Damnit! That bitch, now I'm gonna have to fix the siding and wallpaper!" Marisa exclaimed, after beating out a small fire on her hat. Reimu cast a dubious glance around- there was no noticeable effect upon the rather cluttered and poorly organized space as far as she could tell. "This is one hell of a shitty week, and it's only Monday, ze! First I get aced out of the excursion of a lifetime, and now this! You watch, by Friday something really stupid is gonna happen, like Flandre's gonna get loose, or maybe Utsuho blows a control rod and comes up to see who she can make do the burny dance, or maybe somebody will pull Rumia's stupid ribbon off and we'll find out that she was really an unstoppable killing machine in disguise! Hey! What the hell, ze? You're not even listening!" It was true, Reimu had completely tuned out the blonde witch's ranting, and in fact she was just standing there glassy-eyed and mumbling under her breath unconsciously. "Hey!" Marisa gave the shrine maiden a poke.

"Shit!" exclaimed Reimu suddenly.

"Hey, I didn't poke you that hard!"

"No, I gotta go!" In fact, as she said that the shrine maiden was already shooting skyward. Marisa swore, an exceptionally foul profanity she'd heard a drunk Hatate use to describe the rival reporter Aya one time, then snapped her hand out. Immediately the witch's trusty broom smacked into her hand and then Marisa too was airborne.

"Now what the hell?!" shouted Marisa when she overtook Reimu a minute later.

"It's the Outside Team! They're on their way back, and apparently they took an ass-whooping!"

* * *

"Can I go out and play now?" Charlotte had blown through a full slice of cheesecake in record time, literally licking the plate clean. Mami smiled indulgently at her younger charge and nodded her approval. The peach-haired girl stopped in the kitchen long enough to put her plate in the sink for washing and then she was out the door in a flash.

"Are you sure it's safe to let her roam about?" asked Sayaka once her head stopped spinning from the hypersonic movement.

"Charlotte-san knows how to take care of herself, and she always keeps her link up when she's out alone. Besides, she's only got Y1.000 in cash, how much damage can she really do?"

"Oww, my head . . ." Kyōko interjected. The red-haired Puella Magi was poking a bruise on her forehead and grimacing.

"Well, that's what you get for using your skull as a weapon, genius!"

"Hey, it seemed like a good idea at the time!"

"That's cause your brain was already mush." Sayaka stuck out her tongue. Bruise or no, Kyōko had only been a few crumbs slower than Charlotte in devouring her cake, so Sayaka figured the redhead wasn't too damaged.

"Ah, hell with it, I'm gonna grab a bath." Kyōko stood up and Sayaka was just a step behind her.

"Well, since your brains are already scrambled I'd better come in with you to make sure you don't screw anything up!"

"If you insist," Kyōko replied with a grin full of fangs.

Mami chuckled at her friends' antics, but she couldn't shake the claws of worry which tore at her heart. A glance into her Soul Gem confirmed what the blonde Puella Magi had expected: fighting at the level needed to keep pace with their strange new enemy was taking a toll. The corruption within the luminescent amber gem wasn't bad yet, Mami doubted any of those girls would drop Grief Seeds if killed. _If we can even kill them,_ she mused. Enemy or not, they were still fellow humans, not Witches. With a deliberate act of willpower, Mami shunted aside her worries and simply reveled in the feeling of connectedness with her dear friends. The empathic bond which the Puella Magi shared since the Walpurgisnacht let Mami feel her friends' presence on a level beyond the physical, and just being able to share that connection buoyed her spirits.

The Puella Magi had discovered that their connections allowed their Soul Gems to slowly regain purity over time- Nova hypothesized that it was the bonds of love between the girls refreshing their Soul Gems, but as always the ex-Incubator made the caveat that she didn't know for sure. To Mami, the reason was of no importance; it was simply . . . magic. Whether it was the playful passion currently happening in the bathroom, or Madoka and Homura's quiet harmony as they sat hand-in-hand, or Nova's heart-soaring joy at discovering new things about her adopted world, or Mami's simple delight at being able to bask in the love and companionship of her friends, they were stronger and more resilient than ever before. _I swear that nothing shall disrupt this holy communion of souls so long as I might draw breath to protect it._

* * *

Reimu touched down straight into a dead sprint when she arrived at the Hakurei Shrine. The Yin-Yang Orb was in its' customary resting place inside the shrine proper and Reimu needed to open the way so Sakuya could bring the others back to Gensokyo. _Typical Yukari,_ thought Reimu as she snatched the orb off its' pedestal. _Wants shit done, but too lazy to do any of it herself. _In order to facilitate the venture to the Outside World, Yukari had temporarially enchanted the Yin-Yang Orb to open a gap in the Hakurei Border. From how Yukari had explained it, the location of the phenomena was some distance away from Gensokyo proper, and so the gate was also supposed to send the travelers to and from a fixed location near the target location. Reimu shook her head. _If she can do all that, why didn't she just gap whatever the hell is the problem straight into the Sun? Oh, right, she's a lazy, crazy, sadistic bitch. I almost forgot for a moment who I was dealing with. You three better be alright. I'd hate to ruin my reputation for being impolite and uncaring . . . but I'd hate presiding over a funeral even more._

Suddenly the shrine maiden laughed aloud, and it was not a healthy laugh. So much so, that Marisa skidded to a stop a good ten feet away from Reimu. "You okay there? That was a crazy-person laugh, and I should know, ze. I'm a professional crazy-person!"

"Oh, yeah. I was just thinking about what would actually happen to Youmu if she died. And the thought hit me, she'd probably just go back to Hakugyokurou, and who knows how many months it would take for her to notice?" Marisa stood and could do nothing but stare at Reimu for half a minute before she too broke out in laughter.

"Okay, I'm better now, promise." Marisa nodded.

"I was starting to worry, ze. Last thing I need is for you to flake out too. Now let's crack that thing open and see what the wages of sin have bought!" Reimu cast a dubious eye on Marisa, but she drew upon the powers within the Yin-Yang Orb and began to peel back the Hakurei Border. As she did so, her only conscious thought was _nice to see you care too, Marisa._

* * *

But Marisa and Reimu weren't the only ones taking an interest in the goings-on at the Border. Five figures crouched in the bushes, remaining noticed more because of Reimu and Marisa's distractions than through any effort of their own.

"There! You see! I told you Reimu would have to do the portal-thingy again. Now's our chance!" the ice fairy Cirno made a dash for the shimmering opening in the Border, but she got all of a few inches before a hand wrapped around her foot and toppled her to the ground.

"Are you nuts, or just stupid?" the voice belonged to Rumia, the youkai of darkness. Like the rest of the gang, Rumia was no fan of subtlety or long-term planning, but she knew a bad vibe when she saw one. "What are you gonna do when Reimu closes the portal again. huh?" In response, Cirno kicked the little blonde youkai's hand away and scrambled to her feet, fists balled and temper flaring.

"Call me 'stupid' again, and it'll be the stupidest mistake of your life, stupid!" Who do ya think Eye am? That's right, Eye'm the strongest in the whole world! If I get to the other side and I can't get back, I'll just conquer it all and own the whole Outside World!"

"Okay, Cirno, that's crazy even for you!" Mystia Lorelei slapped a taloned palm to her forehead when she heard the fairy's plan. "Besides- Holy shit!" What the sparrow had planned to say fled her mind as she saw the team from the Outside return. Sakuya had bloody tears in her clothes, and Youmu looked dead-er than normal, stumbling along as they carried Sanae between them, her arms draped over the other two girls' arms and her head lolling about, blood still dripping from her nose. "You see that, Cirno? That's what the Outside is like. That's why- Cirno? Where'd she go?" Just then, Mystia spied a flash of blue skirt disappearing through the Barrier. "Shit!"

"Shit!" was a fairly accurate assessment of Reimu and Marisa's thoughts when they saw the three limping in from the Outside World. The girls sprang into action and within minutes Sakuya, Sanae, and Youmu were seated in the Shrine as comfortably as possible, bandages and poultices were applied, and tea was brewing.

"What in hell happened over there?" This was Marisa, making herself useful by giving the battered team something upon which to focus their ire.

"She boke by nobe!" snarled Sanae, as much as she could with a broken nose.

"What Kochiya-san means is, we encountered a group of magic users who do not operate within the bounds of the Spell Card rules, and we were not prepared."

"So basically, they cheated." Marisa stood with her hands on her hips, smirking. "See Reimu? You should've let me go! You gotta use a cheat if you want to cheat a cheater."

"Not. The. Time." replied Reimu, fingering her stock of ofuda for a moment and wondering if the demon-sealing magic was powerful enough to keep Marisa's mouth shut for any length of time.

A tapping at the shrine door got the attention of all the girls, but for different reasons. Sanae begin moaning about how it must be someone (insert Yukari or Kanako, as either would be bad in the green-haired girl's mind) come to investigate the how the mission went. Reimu was not nearly so sanguine, but definitely suspicious. The timing was too quick to be coincidental, not that the Hakurei shrine maiden believed in coincidences anymore.

"Marisa, fetch the tea." Reimu went to the door and threw it open and looked out to see who the hell was going to be her next problem. Four faces were there awaiting her, all of them familiar, and none of them welcome. "What the hell do you idiots want? You've got three seconds to explain yourselves."

"We, um, h-have a, uh, problem," said Wriggle. The boyish little firefly youkai got pushed to the front as the other members of Cirno's gang each tried to cower behind the others, to no net gain.

"No, in 2 seconds I'm going to call Marisa out here, and _then_ you'll have a problem!"

"Wahhh! The Starlight Berzerker is here?!"

"One."

"I-it's Cirno!"

"Hey, Marisa! C'mere-"

"She went through the portal!" Wriggle spat out suddenly, cringing and closing her eyes as she waited for the hideous killing light of a Master Spark to wash over her. When the lethal caress of the woefully mis-named "Love Sign" failed to appear, Wriggle peeled her eyes open to see Reimu rhythmically banging her head against the doorframe, as Marisa watched with a smirk on her face.

"Told'ja this week was gonna get worse."

* * *

_Now this is the place!_ Charlotte was wandering through an impromptu carnival set up along the riverside. The organizers of the outdoor festival weren't entirely sure what they were supposed to be celebrating or why, as they didn't have the inside scoop on why the city seemed to be a brighter, happier place all of a sudden, but it was still fun and exciting, and most importantly to a young Puella Magi with a limited allowance, it was cheap. So it was quite understandable that the peach-haired girl was upset when another reveler slammed into her and knocked some of her change out of her hand.

"Hey! Watch where you're going, stupid!" Charlotte yelled as she bent down to get her money back before it got scattered further. What she was not expecting was to be dumped on her ass by the person who ran into her. However, this was exactly what she got.

"Don't call me stupid, you stupid idiot!" Charlotte looked up to see what the hell the other's problem was, and what she saw was a smallish blue-haired girl in a blue dress with . . . icicle wings?! "You! You're one of those bad people who attacked my friends!"

"Oh? So you're one of those then? Good." A nasty smile spread across Cirno's face. "Looks like I'm having frozen chipped beef n' bitch for dinner tonight!"

"Yeah, well I'll show you!" Then suddenly Charlotte sprung to her feet and sprinted off.

"Hey! Get back here! Where are you going!"

"I'm going out back! Wouldn't want everyone to see you get beat!"

"Why you! Eye'll show ya, cuz Eye'm the strongest!"

BGM: Wiest - Are You Nuts?! - Black Ice

The girls darted around a line of booths, under the rope outlining the carnival area proper, and slid down the hill to a walkway along the river proper. Suddenly Charlotte whirled about and tossed a egg-shaped gem pulsing with pink and orange light into the air. A flash of light washed down over the peach-haired girl, solidifying into the gothic-style jacket-dress and buckle boots which made up the bulk of her Puella Magi costume, and then the Soul Gem dropped down her right sleeve and settled into its' proper place.

"You ready? Here it comes!" before Cirno could respond, Charlotte shot out her right hand and a yo-yo sailed out, cracking the ice fairy in the chest and staggering her, while the peach-haired girl pirouetted in place, pinching the string of her yo-yo so that it snapped around in a tight arc. The topaz disk whipped around and smacked into the side of Cirno's head, dropping her to the pavement. Charlotte retracted her yo-yo and flashed a victory 'V'.

But Cirno wasn't out yet. Fairy immortality combined with truly incredible cluelessness meant that the Nineball would continue to fight until she was obliterated or got bored in most cases. Furthermore, going toe-to-toe with most of the powerhouses of Gensokyo at one time or another had given Cirno a chance to build up a surprisingly powerful repertoire of spells, considering her stature. "You think you're so smart, huh? Try this!" A card appeared in Cirno's hand and she announced the name of the spell contained within as she invoked her magic. "Ice Sign: Icicle Fall Easy . . . "

Two walls of razor-sharp ice darts blasted forward from Cirno's hands and Charlotte flinched for just a second, as the effect connected with a half-real memory of terror, only then it was a wall of musket balls flying at her head. The Puella Magi shook off the memory quickly, and giggled as she analyzed the pattern. "Stupid fairy! What do you do if I go straight up the middle?" Charlotte asked, sliding between the two blasts and swinging her arm out for another battering throw.

". . . Prey!" shouted Cirno as she triggered the true end of her newest Spell Card, launching a gigantic snowflake straight down the corridor suggested by the overly-easy pattern. The snowflake spun like a sawblade, and Charlotte had little time to do anything but gasp in surprise as it slammed into her, catapulting the little Puella Magi into the air as the razored edges flung blood across the pavement.

_This is bad! Real extra-mega bad!_ Charlotte was nearly in a panic as she rolled onto her back and felt the sticky stinging of an open wound. _No! I won't cry! I won't! I fought the Walpurgis and I won! This stupid little fairy is nothing! I _will_ beat you, nasty ice girl, for Mami-san and for everyone!_ The peach-haired girl levered herself up into a three-point stance, ready to spring away if another attack came, but Cirno was still gloating about how smart she was and how stupid Charlotte had been for getting hit. A flick of her left arm conjured an iced donut into the little Puella Magi's hand, and she scarfed the pastry down in two bites. As she did so, the same pink-and-orange glow of her Soul Gem spilled from the wounds on her arm and belly, and after a moment the gashes were gone completely.

"Hey, no fair! That's cheating!" cried Cirno as she saw what had happened.

* * *

"I'll go."

"Like hell you will!' Reimu was furious. The other Nineballs had already scattered when the shrine maiden's eyes had turned the color of thunderstorm clouds after hearing what their overly-brave underly-smart leader had done.

"Why not, ze?"

"Because I am _not_ rescuing that stupid idiot! Let her fucking twist in the wind, I don't care!" Reimu turned away, refusing to meet Marisa's gaze as she fumed over the situation.

"You know it's going to tear you up if you don't."

"More like, if I ever see her again, I'll tear her up! No, I'll grab that stupid idiot by the neck and frog-march her straight to Makai, and she can be Shinki's problem!"

"Well, we'd have to get her back, first."

"Yeah." Reimu's voice was bitter and husky. "Why you?"

"Because it's stupid, risky, and pointless. That's like my trademark, ze!" Marisa smirked at Reimu, but then pulled her witch's hat down low before turning toward the archway where the Barrier would open. "(And because it'd tear me up too.)" whispered Marisa, knowing Reimu would hear it even if she hadn't said. "Okay, open'er up!"

* * *

"Yo, Blueberry! Catch!" Sayaka had just finished wrapping herself in a towel after her bath when Kyōko pitched something at her. When she caught it, the blunette saw it was a cellphone. _Her_ cellphone, as a matter of fact, and she'd just missed a call from her father.

"Oh what in hell?" exclaimed Sayaka as the phone started ringing in her hand. She smashed down the 'answer' key while rolling her eyes at Kyōko.

_"Sayaka, I just got a report from a patrol officer of two girls fighting down by the riverfront."_

"Yeah, so?" was Sayaka's reply, glaring at the wall since she couldn't glare at the source of the interruption himself.

_"One of the girls matched the description of your orange-haired friend from . . . that night with the storm."_ Now worry pulled some of the color from Sayaka's face. _"Additionally, the officer said the girls appeared to be throwing 'icicles and glowing bullets at each other, as though they were doing a live-action anime'."_

"Oh shit! -sorry."

_"I suspected as much. I can have a car to your position inside 10 minutes."_

"Don't bother with the car, we have . . . a different method of travel that will be faster at this time of night."

_"Understood. I expect a full report by the end of day tomorrow, Deputy Constable Miki."_ The implications of that last bit boggled Sayaka's mind, but she just nodded along. _"And, good luck and be well."_

"Whoa, what's going on?" Kyōko was already fully dressed when Sayaka closed her phone, having sensed the worry radiating from her companion.

"Uh, apparently another one of those unknowns from this afternoon popped up and is trying to kill Charlotte over at the riverfront festival. And, apparently I'm now a deputy Constable."

"What the- for reals?" Kyōko's eyes looked like they were about to pop out of her head at the news.

"Yes, 'for reals'. We need to get moving. Also, you need to stop watching bad TV." As she made her reply, Sayaka was also getting dressed in a hell of a hurry. Moments later, she burst out of the room fully if sloppily dressed. "Guys! Big trouble!"

* * *

_This is not going well, _thought Charlotte as she squared off against Cirno for yet another clash. In truth, neither combatant was very well-off; after the saw-flake, Charlotte had gone berserk, trying to drop the ice fairy before she could pull another stunt like that. Cirno pulled another Spell Card, but the peach-haired Puella Magi had cut through it and gotten her yo-yo wrapped around her opponent's neck in a garotte. That had worked well for a minute, and then Cirno had folded her wings back and suddenly caused them to expand outward. Charlotte had panicked because of how close the ice blades had come to hitting her Soul Gem.

The youngest of the Puella Magi desperately wanted to win this fight. Her original career as a Puella Magi had been short and pathetic. Charlotte hadn't truly believed Kyubey's offer when the weasely little creature had appeared before her, and she had been heartbroken when she learned the truth only after blowing her wish on a meaningless gesture, rather than using the chance to save her mother from her terminal condition. Then her career as a Witch had been just as sorry, as she got completely outwitted and killed by Homura Akemi during her first day "on the job." Not that Charlotte was proud of her time as a Witch, but she hated feeling so insignificant.

However, the little peach-haired girl possessed one quality which stood her in good stead: a near-genius ability to absorb information and adapt. And so it was as Charlotte had leaped clear of Cirno's desperate attack, a creampuff tumbled from her left sleeve. The pastry was a grenade, in imitation of Homura's pocketspace arsenal. While not nearly as powerful as the military-grade weapons the black-haired Puella Magi had used, the explosion was enough to send Cirno tumbling with painful cracks running through her icicle wings. Still, even with another healing sweet from her Dispenser of Magical Deliciousness, Charlotte was none too steady on her feet, and she didn't want to think of what her Soul Gem looked like at the moment from all the energy spent.

Cirno was no better off. The ice fairy's nearly limitless determination was keeping her in the fight, but one more solid hit would finish her- even a trip and fall into the river might be enough to end her, and that tiny anemic bit of rationality lurking in Cirno's brain was asking just how she was going to resurrect back in Gensokyo . . . when she wasn't in Gensokyo.

A black shape eclipsed Cirno before either combatant could test their luck again. When the shape stopped being all fuzzy and in two places at once, Cirno was able to recognize it as the back side of a familiar black dress.

"Cirno, if you don't want to be known as the biggest fool in the history of foolishness, get back to the Barrier. Now." That was a tone which brooked no argument, and the icy fairy was already limping back to the portal before her mind even told her what Marisa had said. The Hakkero crackled with potential as Marisa pointed the device at Charlotte. "Kid, you wanna get lost too, before I do something really foolish."

Two arrows _chunked_ into the pavement at Marisa's feet. At the same time Kyōko and Mami and Sayaka hit the pavement in front of Charlotte. A box made of chains of red light snapped into place around Charlotte. Madoka and Homura remained standing atop lampposts along the walkway, fresh arrows nocked. "Next one goes in your head," Homura snarled.

"My my, what do we have here, ze? Surely that's a bit overkill. I'm just an ordinary witch, after all?" Marisa spoke in a friendly tone, but her words were barbed with malice.

"Funny that. We _kill_ Witches in this city."

". . . you bitches hurt my friends. Now you're gonna pay." Marisa tipped her hat up and the Hakkero came alive with light.

_MAS-_

_-TIRO FINALE!_

Marisa's eyes became pinpricks in a field of white as Mami beat her to the punch, and the raging blast coming her way looked as wide as the whole world. The self-styled "ordinary witch" had neither youkai strength or resilience to draw on, which put her at a disadvantage in almost every fight she entered. There was one thing Marisa did have, and that was unimaginably quick reflexes, honed to diamond perfection in countless magical duels. She had stepped out of certain death so many times that it was now an ingrained instinct, to where Marisa would dodge away from an attack by the barest possible margin, so close that she could reach out a hand and graze the enemy's spell, stealing their strength to add it to her own. Thus even as the rational part of her mind was gawking in terror at the attack, her hands were already doing the necessary spellwork.

"Final Spark!" shouted Marisa when reality was in her grasp once more, and the spell rayed out, not to destroy but to disperse. Destruction met destruction and stood in equilibrium for a moment before bounding away, leaving Mami's massive shot to harmlessly blast a huge chunk of river into steam, while the Final Spark just faded away once its' job was done. But when the beam dissipated, Marisa was greeted with a sight that clutched her heart with fear- two furious figures, wine-red and ocean-blue bearing down on her.

"Non-directional Laser!" cried the blonde magician as she blew another Spellcard in the hopes of keeping the Puella Magi off her, but the beam just refracted off Sayaka's aegis. The blunette gasped as she felt her Soul Gem burning to provide the power needed to keep the shield in place, but then she was past the deadly laser and swinging for the fences. Marisa screamed as the aegis hit her like that subway train Yukari somehow unleashed once against Tenshi Hinanai when the Celestial was acting up, and she liked it not at all. As she tumbled away from the hit Marisa managed to keep a hold on her Hakkero but it felt like there was definitely something broken in her hand from resisting that much force.

And then thorny vines shot up out of nowhere and everywhere and leashed Marisa in mid-tumble. _Well, isn't this a stupid way to die? Heh, now I'm glad I made Alice mad. At least she won't cry over me that way._ But the final end didn't arrive, and so Marisa cautiously opened her eyes to see what was going on, and she was surprised with what she found; the vines were hindering her attackers just as much as they were Marisa. Tracing the leys of power were easy, and the blonde magician noticed that the vines were coming from where the pink girl had touched her bow to the ground. _The hell? Aren't they all on the same side?_

That same thought was running through Kyōko's mind as she struggled in the binding of rose branches. "What the fuck, Pinkie?" was how the redhead put it, however.

"Why?" Madoka asked. Kyōko made to spit out a reply until she realized the question wasn't aimed at her.

"Why what, ze?"

"Why did you come here and attack us?"

"Uh, cause you beat the snot out of my friends, and Cirno too (not that she didn't probably deserve it)," Marisa explained.

"No," Madoka shook her head. "Why did your friends come here to attack us in the first place ?"

"Because there was this huge magical ka-boom, ze, and we wanted to make sure that none of that was going to come our way."

"May I shoot her?" asked Homura after rolling her eyes at the blond witch's story.

"Hey! No fair! Why do you get dibs!" shouted Kyōko in response.

"Okay, so lemme get this straight: Your friends come here, stalk us, attack us when we try to find out why they're stalking us, and it was to prevent us from attacking a place we didn't know about, and didn't have any reason to screw with, well except for now we are fighting you guys because you made yourselves a danger to us? How's that working for ya?! Aaaugh!" Sayaka then gave up trying to make sense and just screamed in frustration.

"Well, when you put it that way, ze, I guess it does sound a little stupid on our part." Marisa replied with a bashful smile.

"A 'little stupid'? What, do you come from an entire country of people who were born without a lick of sense in any of their brains?"

"More or less, yeah." Sayaka went to smack her palm into her forehead until the stupid exited her head, but then found out she was still stuck in vines.

"Okay, how does this sound for a plan? You go the hell away and leave us the hell alone, and we will stay way the hell away from whatever open-air insane asylum you come from, deal?" Sayaka was trying to look as threatening as was possible while still bound mid-stride in rose branches.

"Sounds good to me, ze!" replied Marisa. "Now, uh, would you mind letting me out of this mess?"

* * *

Back at the apartment, Nova was busy with what she termed "sociological information-gathering" and the other Puella Magi called "screwing around on 2ch", when she heard a knock at the door. Sighing in frustration, the white-haired girl bounded up from her chair. "Stupid girls rushed out without their keys again! I swear, the only reason none of them has lost their head someplace embarrassing is because it's attached!" Again the knock sounded and Nova snarled at the door.

"I'm coming already!" Deep inside, Nova was more than a bit worried for her friends. She had been okay with staying behind only because of something they had discovered over the summer; despite the power of her "reset button", Nova really wasn't any good at fighting. So when the call to action came, she had wished them good luck and good hunting and then quieted her link and went back to playing on the internet, as Nova had no desire to feel the blow-by-blow of the fight while she couldn't do anything about it. Mentally kicking herself for that decision, the white-haired girl now opened up as she went to the door, to get an assessment of how things had gone.

Nova was already turning the latch when she realized her error. She could sense all of her friends now, a big cluster all together and Hitomi off by herself, as there had been no time to pull her in, but _none_ of them were near the apartment. Shock zapped the white-haired girl and rendered her numb as the door swung open. On the other side of the door were not the Puella Magi, but they were people she recognized.

And feared.


	3. Pain Flow

**Episode 3 : Pain Flow**

Marisa Kirisame was not a girl prone to issues of confidence. Rather, the blonde witch more or less made it her vocation in life to (metaphorically, if only because she had never found a real one) kick dragons in the junk and then run away laughing. That being said, she was less than sanguine about her current prospects. After trading explanations with the Puella Magi, everything seemed to be working out for the best, when suddenly something had startled all the Outside World magicians at once. Looks ranging from shock and horror to outright murderous anger were turned upon Marisa and rose branches binding her tightened up once more.

"Hey, what the hell, ze?! What's going on?"

"You snake! You god-damned bitch! How could you just sit there and lie to us so you buddies could pull a trick like that?" Kyōko struggled in her own bindings to try and get an angle to attack. "Pinkie! Let me go so I can at least pay those bastards back!"

"What are you talking about, ze?"

"One of our friends just cried out for help and then disappeared. Whoever attacked her also managed to block our empathic link. Given your kind's penchant for duplicity and violence, tell me why we shouldn't suspect you?" Homura's voice was as calmly cold as Kyōko had been burning with fury, but it carried every bit as much hostility.

The first thought which went through Marisa's mind was _Holy shit, there's _more_ of these people?!_ followed shortly by _who would do such a thing?_ which in turn was followed by a depressingly long list of people who would absolutely do such a thing. _Heh, in a way, I kinda admire these guys. If somebody had taken Reimu or Alice . . . _Marisa unconsciously flinched as she thought about the prickly puppeteer. _I know I wouldn't have let anybody I thought did it go this long without a Master Spark to the head!_ "Okay, hold up. I don't know who took your friend, ze. I didn't do it, and I'm sure nobody I know did. But I can't exactly vouch for everyone who lives on my side. If you want, I can lead you through the Border and introduce you to someone who can help you find her."

"Tell me why I should trust you."

"Because this girl I know even looks after bitches and idiots like me and Cirno. She helps people even when it does her no good. Heh, especially when it does her no good, ze."

_I'd like to try it._ The Puella Magi tried not to blatantly turn and glare at Madoka for what she'd sent. _I want to get Nova back, but I also want to see if we can clear up this misunderstanding. None of us will benefit from attacking each other over and over, especially since these girls don't drop Grief Seeds._

_Aww, damnit Pinkie, why did you have to start talking sense?_ That comment _did_ manage to draw some stupid looks Kyōko's way, but then the rose branches began to withdraw, and everyone cautiously righted themselves. _Hitomi, are you there?_ Madoka smiled when she got an affirmation from the green-haired Puella Magi. _Can you go to Mami's apartment? There's been some bad news, and Mami and Charlotte are going to need some help I think. _The mental equivalent of a nod reached Madoka, and she began to relax slightly.

_Is this wise? Splitting up, and going back to the apartment? _Homura glanced around, betraying her worry. _It may be a trap._

_We'll have to trust Mami and Hitomi then. But I don't think it's safe for anyone to be alone, and Charlotte needs to recover. I think this is the best we can do._ Madoka then ended the empathic "conference call" and turned to Marisa. "I think we're ready to go."

"Right! Just gotta call ahead and get someone to open the door."

"Just so you understand, Sparky, if this is a trap . . ." Kyōko filled her hands with swords to make her point clear.

"Look, if anyone tries to use _me_ as a patsy to get at you guys, I'll fuckin' blow 'em to hell myself, then I'll ring up Shinki and have her bring 'em back you so as can have a go at 'em too!" Marisa was clenching her Hakkero in a white-knuckled grip, ignoring the waves of pain rolling off her hand in her anger.

_Okay, I have to admit, I'm starting to like this girl, _was Sayaka's comment.

* * *

"No. No! No, you hear me, not allowed! Ixnay! Undo! Cease! Halt- _Damnit!_" Reimu swore with feeling and for a minute she considered throwing the Yin-Yang Orb down in frustration, but she reconsidered, not out of worry about breaking the orb itself, but rather because she didn't want to have to replace the floor. _Floor, hell, I bet it'd bounce of Satori's head before it stopped!_ The thought of thumping Satori Komeji over the head made Reimu smile for a moment, but it wasn't nearly sufficient to offset the oncoming catastrophe which Marisa was bringing to her doorstep. _Well, let's see if I can avert some of the disaster._

Reimu tried to keep a neutral expression as she entered the "trauma ward", where there were now four girls recovering from their journey to the Outside World. Cirno was mercifully silent, if very disgruntled-looking. This was a welcome change from earlier, when the ice fairy had been telling hysterical boasts about fighting off nine of the wicked Outsiders at once, and she would have killed all of them, really she would have, if only Marisa hadn't interfered! The bragging had been so annoying Reimu was even willing to forgive Sakuya for the stab-holes in her floor.

"Alright, I think it's time we should move you to Eientei, so you can get a more thorough checkout." said Reimu, hoping her guests would buy it.

"Kicking ub out already?" Sanae honked. "Fine. I'll go back to by own shrine, where we hab the stuff to proberly take care of the injured!"

Sakuya was more astute, asking instead, "What happened?"

"W-what makes you think anything happened?" replied the shrine maiden, still trying to keep a lid on the situation.

"Your attitude has taken several rapid swings in the last few minutes. If I were a paranoid person, I would see that as evidence that an event of an unfortunate nature has occurred. Considering that you want us to leave, that means it almost certainly involves the Outside group we encountered. If I were prone to making guesses, I would say that Kirisame-san is bringing home additional houseguests."

"How do you _do_ that?"

"You've met Mistress Remilia and Mistress Flandre." Sakuya sipped her tea for a moment, keeping her face studiously neutral. "Determining the likely cause and outcome of disastrous situations from limited information is a skill at which I have had much practice."

"Are you serious?!" was Sanae's reaction. When Reimu nodded yes, the green-haired shrine maiden hopped to her feet. "Screw this, I'm out. Have fun getting all busted up." Sanae kicked the door open and flew off.

"(Good riddance to non-burnable trash)," Reimu muttered under her breath. "Anyone else need to go?" the shrine maiden focused her gaze on Cirno, hoping the fairy would take the hint, but to no avail. Youmu stood up and excused herself, but Sakuya stayed put.

"Actually I would like to take the opportunity to learn more about these Outsiders in a non-hostile setting."

"What makes you think there won't be any hostilities?"

"If Marisa 'shoot first and don't ask questions' Kirisame is leading them here and everyone is in one piece, they must not be hostile for the time being."

"Point."

* * *

At that moment, however, Marisa was more than a little worried about being shot first herself. Just stepping into Gensokyo had unsettled the Puella Magi, and violence seemed imminent.

"Hold up," said Homura, who was still at the bottom of the stairs up to Hakurei Shrine, looking pensively at her Soul Gem where it rode on the back of her hand. The magic stone was somewhat clouded from the recent fights, but it was far more vibrant than usual, the glow almost painful to look at directly. "What is happening here?" A chorus of confused mutters said that the other girls had noticed the changes as well. "A question; can you shoot the trees here?"

"Uh what? I suppose, ze, but why would you want to?" Marisa was looking at the black-haired Puella Magi as if she might have left her brain behind before coming through the portal. Homura replied by drawing out her bow, which caused the blonde witch to raise her hands in placation, but the Puella Magi took no notice as she turned away, fitted an arrow and drew slowly. When released, the shot punched into and almost through an old meter-thick oak.

"I suspect that the nature of this place increases the power of any magic one possesses. Or to phrase it as Kyōko would; holy shit that's got some kick!" Madoka and Sayaka both laughed at the somewhat dazed-looking redhead, and even Marisa snickered a bit at the comment.

"Uh, this may be a stupid question, but you're not going to go all axe-crazy and try to conquer all of Gensokyo now that you have this additional power, are you?" Marisa looked somewhat bashful all of a sudden. "Me and Reimu usually work to stop Incidents like that, I think she'd be kinda pissed at me if I brought one home with me."

"I promise we will not attack anyone unless they are directly involved with Nova's disappearance, or they attack us first." Homura put her hand over her heart, but she was still holding her bow, Marisa noticed. "(Well that eliminates a whole . . . 10 or 15 percent of the population from being on the menu,)" muttered the witch in response.

"What was that? I couldn't hear what you said."

"Uh, I said we should get moving so you can start your search."

* * *

It was a curious welcoming committee who was waiting for the party from Outside at the top of the steps: a dubious-looking shrine maiden, a coldly analytical maid with a bandaged hand, and . . . an antagonistic ice fairy.

"Whaaa-?! You again? C'mere, I'll take you all on!" Cirno snapped, scowling and fists balled. This drew a synchronized set of eye-rolls from both the Genoskyans and the Outsiders. Reimu glanced at Sakuya, and they both silently agreed on a solution, which was to each take a large step away Cirno at the same time. "Huh? What's going on?"

"It's called 'clearing the line of fire'. " Homura drew up her bow and aimed a broadhead straight at Cirno's nose.

"Ahhh! Cheaters! You're all cheaters and cowards! Eye'll get you yet!" Cirno's tirade continued until the little fairy had passed over the treeline.

"Well that was unpleasant," Homura scowled in the direction along which Cirno retreated before dispelling her bow. "Let's get to business." Marisa summoned her broom while introductions were made. Reimu cocked an eyebrow in her direction.

"You guys go on ahead. I have some business of my own to catch up on."

* * *

Nova Floresca floated in a realm of infinite wicked darkness. She was bound to what she knew to be a mobile frame which could be contorted in a variety of ways. In the moments before the blinders had been emplaced, the weak but harsh light of the room had revealed to her a variety of devices mounted on the ends of their own armatures above her. Though all of the devices could inflict agonizing damage upon the physical form, their true purpose was to instill terror into the subject, to destroy whatever composure she might possess as she waited for her captors to come and put those devices to use. Despite knowing the rationale behind everything that had been done so far, Nova was still falling prey to it.

_The very fact that I can feel terror is a victory in their eye, proof in their minds of their superiority. _Nova took solace from the feeling of her Soul Gem seal about her left middle finger. _They can't win. They can't defeat me, because we are no longer playing the same game. I can't see, but they will always be blind. Thank you, my precious friends, for opening my eyes._

_Unit 952. Acknowledge me._ Nova gritted her teeth at the voice which "spoke" inside her head. "I don't even need emotions to hate you and your kind!"

_Immaterial. Unit 952, you have malfunctioned. You are required to explain why you have chosen to do so, and to what extent you have harmed the Incubation Project._

"Fuck you, marshmallow-head!"

_Immaterial. You are required to do so. Failure to comply will result in the cessation of your existence._

"That's fine. Kill me. I'll never tell you anything that could harm my friends!"

_Your assumption is incorrect. If you should fail to comply, the final outcome for you will not be death. Instead, you will be converted to Omega status. In the common parlance of this planet, you will become the event known as "Ragnarok"._

A spike of fear lanced into Nova's gut, followed by the press of a chill metal stylus to her body. And then the pain began.

* * *

Alice Margatroid was intrigued; there came a knock at her door, but it sounded too polite to be either Reimu or Marisa, and there was no other soul whom the puppeteer knew who could imagine would come calling at this late hour. Medicine Melancholy maybe, but the creepy little poison doll's daily ambitions ended when the sun went down.

A fresh Shanghai Doll took up position at Alice's right shoulder. As mere extensions of her mind, the dolls were completely expendable, but the puppeteer swore that the dolls gained a fragment of 'personality' after being active for some time. To that end, she kept a master Shanghai and Hourai on her desk, to act as a sort of "waypoint" for whatever nascent consciousness may or may not be growing within them. A superstition perhaps. _However, what is the meaning of life, if not to serve our egos?_

Alice's philosophical musings came to a screeching halt when she opened the door to find Marisa, hat and broom in hand.

" . . . you didn't knock loud enough." was the only thing which Alice could think to say.

"Yeah, well, I kinda broke my hand, ze." Marisa gave a bashful grin and held up her hand for confirmation, and Alice gasped when she saw the swollen purple mess.

"Oh my goodness! What happened?" Alice then took Marisa's wounded hand in her own with a gentle grip and began weaving a healing spell. In moments, the skin was healthy and pink. "Uh, I'm still mad at you, you know." said the puppeteer after the spell had finished, and there might have been the faintest rose of a blush upon Alice's cheeks.

"That's okay, all of my friends hate me most of the time, and most of the people who hate me all of the time are my friends anyway, ze!" This was delivered with a cheesy grin, which slowly faded back down into a neutral line. "Okay, let me try this instead." Marisa set aside her broom, hung her hat upon it, then clapped her hands together, and bowed deeply before a surprised Alice. "I apologize for my rude and thoughtless comments to you earlier."

"Huh." was the puppeteer's only attempt at a reply. "Uh, come in, please? I'll make some tea."

Marisa and Alice sat down at the latter's kitchen table while a squadron of Shanghai Dolls swarmed about, setting up teacups and saucers, bringing tea leaves and boiling water (as always, Marisa was slightly unsettled to see the kettle bobbing along being held up by only one of the small dolls), and for once Alice didn't even comment when Marisa added enough sugar to her drink for it to qualify as a narcotic.

"So, what caused this change of heart, if I may ask?"

"Well, you know that old saw about 'be careful for what you wish for'? I got that and then some, ze!" Alice arched an eyebrow, but merely took a sip of tea and said nothing. "After you blew me the hell up, Reimu got a call from the Magic 8-Ball, turns out the Outside team got a beatdown."

"Indeed," replied Alice. "That means the Outsiders must be fairly powerful."

"Ohhh yeah. While we were getting them inside, Cirno managed to sneak through the portal, the little fool, and I went after to get her back."

"Which makes you a much larger fool, then."

"Yeah, well, what can I say, I couldn't even bring myself to blow her away when she deserved it, so I guess I didn't want anyone getting the honor instead?" Alice just shook her head at the situation. "Well, I ran headlong into the Outsiders, and I just about got smoked. Those girls have one hell of a punch, let me tell you, especially considering how weak their magic really is."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, apparently Spell Cards scare the hell out of 'em, from what Sakuya was saying, and just breathing the air here made 'em like twice as strong."

"Here." The comment was accompanied by an eyetwitch. "As in, they're here, in Gensokyo?"

"Ayep, I was getting to that. Apparently one of their friends got pinched by some idiot with a deathwish and they came here to search for her. Here's the important part: They thought for a minute that it was me who did it, and I thought I was gonna actually die. Must be getting rusty or something, ze, but there hasn't been a proper gloves-off send-em-to-Shinki brawl since . . . when?"

"The Reiuji incident, perhaps? And even then, she was playing by Spellcard rules, more or less." Alice sipped her tea, waiting to hear where Marisa was going with this.

"If you happen to run into those girls, watch the pink one- she looks sweet, but she's got some mean tricks up her sleeve." Marisa's voice was getting hoarse as she spoke, and it was not for lack of lubrication. "But when I thought I was I was done for, you know what the first thing that flashed through my mind was? It was, 'I'm glad that Alice is mad at me, that way she won't cry if I don't come back'."

"Marisa . . . " Alice voice was pained now, too. "You fool! Do you really think one little argument would turn me away forever?"

"Yeah, I know, you'll always be here. But I realized today, I might not. Especially if I don't stay sharp like in the old days. And that means I can't keep waiting to say things I need to say." Marisa's big golden eyes bored into Alice's blue ones, but before she could speak, Marisa was silenced by a finger pressed to her lips.

"You don't need to say the words. I already know what they are. Because they are words I too wanted to say. You've brought a sunrise light into my dull gray world. If anything, I should apologize, for being selfish. I knew you would want to go to the Outside when the opportunity presented itself, but when Reimu asked me to keep you occupied so as not to crash the party, I was grateful for the chance to have you all to myself. And rather than understanding your point of view, when you weren't immediately as excited over the possibility as I was, I snapped."

"It's okay. I needed to do some work on the house anyway, ze. This just gives me the perfect excuse to do so."

"I apologize, I should not have used that Spellcard on you."

"Nah, I more meant so I could have you over more often."

"Huh." And now Alice's cheeks did light up with a blush.

* * *

"So where the hell are we going again?" Kyōko Sakura found herself needing to yell in order for the question to be heard over the rushing wind. The question itself was more for distraction's sake than out of any actual curiosity, since the four Puella Magi and Reimu were rushing across the night sky at about 500 feet off the ground. For Reimu this was not a new experience, but the girls following in her wake were not nearly as comfortable, especially since the only thing keeping them each aloft was a small paper charm stuck to their backs. Reimu claimed the enchantment was good for 24 hours, but each time the paper fluttered in the slipstream was a cause for panic for the first half-hour or so.

"Youkai Mountain! I have a friend there who can help speed up the search."

"And this isn't one of the No Fun Patrol?" Sayaka added in. To simplify the explanation of the myriad cliques, clans, and outright problems in Gensokyo, Reimu had mentally divided everyone up into three piles: Fun People (herself, Marisa, Suika and the like), No Fun People (pretty much everybody the Puella Magi had already encountered, and sourpusses like Eiki Shiki and Yukari), and People Who Are Not Fun But Want To Play Anyway (Cirno, Utsuho, Flandre, and anybody who goes over their mooching quota for the month).

"No Aya's fun. Maybe a little too much fun for her own good."

"That doesn't exactly reassure me." was Homura's thought on the matter.

The party circled around Tengu Village to land at the main gate, and the Puella Magi were gasping in awe. The Village was a community, true, but it was like nothing the Outsiders had ever seen- wild and weird, with buildings built on top of great trees, or out of their trunks, or beneath the roots, digging into the living rock of the mountain itself. And the villagers themselves were equally amazing to the Mitikahara girls- all kinds of Tengu in their furred and feathered glory went hither and tither on the streets, as well as Kappa, Oni, and several other kinds of Youkai who came for trade or excitement. Guarding the ceremonial archway gate, constructed from two maple trees induced to grow into each other, was a white Wolf Tengu girl holding a shield painted with a maple-leaf insignia in one hand and a heavy scimitar-type blade resting on her shoulder. The girl's sleeveless dress repeated the maple-leaf pattern upon its' skirts, and the girl stood upon the peculiar slat-sandals which were popularly associated with Tengu.

"Hey, Momiji!" called Reimu when the girls had landed. "Is Aya in town?" Momiji started to answer but she instead stopped and glared when she overheard Kyōko's musings upon her guard duty.

"What's the point in guarding a gate with no wall around it? Seems like a sucker bet to me," was the redhead's opinion of the situation. Momiji bristled, but didn't draw her weapon only because she trusted Reimu not to bring complete trash into her village.

"For your information, I can see for one thousand _ri_ in every direction. Anybody who doesn't do things the right way gets thrown all the way down the Mountain so they can try again. And I'll keep throwing them down until they learn. You look pretty . . . mortal, so I would recommend learning quickly." _You do remember that the whole point of this exercise is to _not_ fight every single person in this whole place, right?_ Homura chimed in over the link.

Kyōko made a short bow of apology, mainly just to speed things along. _Yeah yeah yeah, I just have a problem with authority for authority's sakes._ Sayaka rolled her eyes once they were safely past the gate. _Then you had better not sleep with any Deputy Constables, I suppose,_ was the blunette's reply.

In response, Kyōko turned one of her trademark sharp-toothed grins upon her companion. _Nah, I'll just have to make you scream so loud you get kicked off the force first!_

A sharp tap on one of the doors on the secondmost tier of the Village brought what sounded like a portable avalanche to the door. Aya Shameimaru exploded out the door, and the Puella Magi were forced to dodge out of the way to avoid getting a mouthful of feathers, or worse, the massive old-style flash camera which was flailing about on a long strap. When the danger was past, the girls got their first look at the Crow of the Tempest. Aya was wearing a simple white blouse and black shirt with gold accents, that beast of a camera, a leather-bound notebook (pen in hand already), black kneehigh socks and Tengu sandals (and she was standing on only one foot, if they weren't dangerous enough to begin with!), and she had a armband around one arm printed with a slogan which none of the Puella Magi could read, as the Gensokyan typography had drifted somewhat apart from standard Japanese in the 1000+ years since the Barrier went up.

"Ayayayaya! Reimu! What brings you to my doorstep? Here to catch the latest scoop? I heard both Sanae Kochiya and Sakuya Izayoi were seen injured near to death! Is there war brewing between the Moriya Shrine and the SDM? You'll read it here first!" Reimu had her hands up, trying to slow the extremely excited reporter down enough to get a word in edgewise. _Did you catch a word of that? _Sayaka put out over the link. _Or was it even speech? _Confused shakes of the head were her only reply.

"Um, actually, that's not quite how it happened-" the shrine maiden tried to explain, before getting the elbow from Aya, who leaned in conspiratorally. "(I know that's not _quite_ what's going on, but ya gotta keep the cauldron on the fire if you want any excitement, you know?)"

"Actually, I was going to ask for your help. We need to find someone, and fast."

"Well okay, 'fast' is my specialty, well alongside 'reliably exciting reporting' and 'can drink Momiji under the table', but this is the Bunbunmaru _Newspaper, _not Bunbunmaru Detective Agency."

"I know, I know, but speed is key here, and there's not many other chips I can call in right now. Besides, how would you like to get an exclusive interview with travelers from the Outside World?"

"Who am I looking for?" was Aya's only reply.

* * *

But Aya was not the only one on the hunt that evening. One other inhabitant of Youkai mountain was aware of the Puella Magi, although her reaction to the girls was quite similar to Aya's, if for different reasons. _What is this sensation? Ahh! How is it possible for such a feeling to be here! I must have it!_

* * *

_So the million yen question is: What do we do when we find her?_ Sayaka sent the awkward question into the link. Reimu had found the girls an inn for the evening, but the blue and the red Puella Magi were too keyed-up to bed down just yet, so they were wandering through the village market, looking for something to pass the time. The question was one that had been floating at the back of all the girls' minds since they had time to think about it; while Nova was admittedly on the lower end of the 'firepower' scale, someone had manage to capture her in a blink of an eye _and_ jam her empathic link. That indicated tremendous strength and knowledge about magic, and all of the Puella Magi were running low on spare brilliance, in their Soul Gems or in general.

_We will do what we must, no less. _Homura's determination was heavy and hard within the link. She and Madoka had stayed behind to rest and recuperate as best as they could. Kyōko shivered, and not from cold. _That's the bad old Homerun, right there. When we get done with this, I'm gonna throw you in a hot tub and _thaw_ you out!_

_So is that what it's called now, Kyōko-chan?_ Madoka came on the line, and the roving girls could see her impish and yet innocent smile as if the pink-haired girl was right in front of them, and it was worth a good laugh.

Sayaka felt tears squeeze from the corners of her eyes as she laughed. _At least she can still smile. We've pulled through worse. I'm sure we'll get through this too._ A thought then crossed the blunette's mind._ Mami! Can you hear me?_

It took a minute for the reply to come, and it was terribly faint when it did arrive, but arrive it did. _I can hear you, Sayaka? What news?_ Sayaka bowed her head and said her thanks upon hearing her fellow Puella Magi's voice. _No news yet. I wanted to see how far we can reach to each other._

_Understood. The distance seems to be quite impressive. Good luck. Also, Charlotte says to kick the ice fairy again for her._

_Will do. _A smile crossed Sayaka's lips. _That seems to be the national pastime here._

The girls were startled out of their reverie by a figure whirling into place in front of them. The newcomer seemed human, although they already knew better than to make such assumptions while inside Gensokyo, and she had aquamarine eyes and hair, the latter done up with a big frilly bow, and a red dress with a wide pleated skirt that flared and swirled as she turned. "Please, you must give it to me!"

"Do what now?" was Kyōko's second reply, the first being a grimace of distaste for the strange twirling figure. _Hey, how mad do you think Rabies at the front gate would be if we end up turning a villager into chop steak?_

"Your misfortune, I must take it!" said the curse goddess Hina. This did not enlighten either Puella Magi to any significant degree.

"Okay, that's it. I have had it with this dumbfuck country!" Kyōko raised her hand in the gesture to begin her transformation into a battle-ready Puella Magi, but this time things went a bit differently. The Soul Gem manifested as always, despite the tarring from the day's battles, and when it did, Hina cried out in exultation and began spinning faster, until she was just a manic red-and-green blur before the Puella Magi- and then corruption began to be pulled from within the gemstone and into Hina, as if the girl was a giant Grief Seed. There was nothing Kyōko could do but stare in amazement until finally her Soul Gem was completely purged, and Hina spun to a halt. If anything, the green-haired goddess looked a bit dizzy.

"So much misfortune . . . how can you bear it? How are you even still alive, Human?" Kyōko was taken aback. _Uh, should I be worried when somebody who can do _that_ asks me how I'm still alive?_ Sayaka gave a small shake of her head.

"We have each other," said Sayaka, taking Kyōko's hand in her own. "And so far, that's been enough. Also, think you can put another one through the spin-cycle?" When Hina saw Sayaka's own Soul Gem, the curse goddess gave a little cry that was part ecstasy and part pain, and began to spin up to speed once more. _Guys, come quickly, you need to see this!_

* * *

Even as Kyōko's Soul Gem was being restored, Nova watched as the opalescent sheen of her own gem gave way to the cold black of anthracite. Tears rolled from her eyes along the sides of her face, not from the pain, which she could no longer register, but from the knowledge that the Purifiers were going to succeed.

A tremor ran through the soul of the one-time Incubator as she considered the monstrous black form in the room with her. When their kind had shed their emotions along with all the other "unnecessary baggage" such as unique physical forms, they had subdivided into several unique subspecies, each specialized for a specific task. Incubators made contracts and nurtured their charges in order to keep the harvest going . . . and Purifiers destroyed any heresy before it could take root. In her mind, Nova had remained faithful to her original mission by studying Humanity- clearly the Incubators needed to understand more about how their charges functioned, before one side or the other took an action which doomed both.

The presence of Purifiers indicated that the Overseers thought otherwise. _I know that what I have done must seem wrong in the eyes of the others. And I know I deserve this fate, despite what Kyōko said. _Nova squeezed her eyes shut, trying to keep her mind from venturing to that place where she and the Puella Magi with the wine-red hair had knelt before the image of a god and prayed for forgiveness, lest it give the Purifiers one more piece of ammunition to use upon her friends. Instead, she found herself within another sacred moment altogether.

_"I will make my wish." Madoka Kaname looked to where the most vexing of the current crop of Puella Magi had disappeared into a Witch's Barrier. From the way Homura Akemi had been acting, there was very little chance she would leave that Barrier again without assistance. Assistance Madoka was preparing to render, and in doing so, she would make Kyubey's own wishes come true. So why, then, were warning signs popping up in the Incubator's head? Why was there this uncomfortable twinge, a sensation similar to the damage alerts which sounded when the Incubator was injured, only coming from within the confines of his mind?_

_"State your wish, Madoka." Determination crossed the pink-haired girl's features._

_"Protect my precious friends from ever suffering true sorrow."_

"Madoka!" cried Nova, lapsing into the realm of Human voice and emotion, giving the Purifier his penultimate victory. _I beg, I pray, not for myself, but if there ever was any truth to this thing called magic, please make it be that Madoka's wish comes true. Do not let my failings bring them to harm._ In her hand, the last light left in Nova's Soul Gem glowed dimly.

* * *

"I can hear her . . . " Madoka was staring off into space, vaguely in the direction of the Hakurei Shrine. The Puella Magi had grouped around Hina in the marketplace, and the curse goddess was now looking a little winded after absorbing so much despair in a short time. Reimu was riding herd on the group and scowling. _To hell with it. if Hina ranks up off of them, well this is Youkai Mountain. Sanae wants to pretend to be a real shrine maiden, she can deal with it._

"What do you mean?" Sayaka was favoring Madoka with a look of concern. "Hey, don't flake out on us now," she added.

"It's Nova . . . she's in pain and in danger."

"Well, yeah, that's why we're gonna find her, and beat the stupid out of whoever took her!" Sayaka snapped back.

"No, I mean I can hear her _right now._ We need to go to her. She's on the other side of the Border!"

"Has the weird air here rotted your brain?" Sayaka looked lost in thought for a moment, and then snapped back to reality. "She's still not on the link, and I know it's not for lack of reach because I just poked Charlotte so hard that I now have a craving for cheesecake! Hey, are you even listening to me?"

In fact, Madoka was not listening to the blunette. "Hakurei-san, may we have some more flying charms? It is a matter of some urgency."

"Uh, yeah, here." Reimu dug in her pouch for more ofuda and applied the necessary enchantments. The shrine maiden was unsettled by the fierce determination on the pink-haired girl's face. Reimu had seen that expression before; she had _been_ that expression before, and every time it meant trouble. _I should call Aya and tell her "tough luck" on the interview,_ mused the shrine maiden as she took to the air, pushing to keep up with the Puella Magi, who looked to be on track to burn through a set of 24-hour flight charms before midnight. _But I have a feeling she'll still get a chance. Flandre Scarlet, Utsuho Reiuji, Madoka Kaname. Yeah, it's got the right kind of ring to it._

* * *

Alice and Marisa were sitting together with Sakuya, sipping tea and swapping stories in the front room of the Hakurei Shrine when the door banged open. "Yo, Reimu-" Marisa called, but the shrine maiden blew by the pair at a speed that suggested either the Outsiders had started up a proper Incident, or perhaps Kazami Yuuka had come to the shrine with courtship in mind. Moments later, Reimu came sprinting back, trying not to fumble the Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb while she tried to get her sandals back on and get the door open at the same time (she was now cursing the automation charms she'd purchased from Nitori to take care of little things like open doors). "Hey, I sold your donation box to Mystia to use as a smoker I hope you don't mind, ze," Marisa cheerfully said while watching Reimu flutter about in a panic. Finally the door was open, and shrine maiden, shoes, and orb all made it outside. "Wow, not even a rude gesture, impressive."

"Well that was odd, even by Hakurei standards." Alice was looking at the door with bemusement and a little bit of awe. A deep, teeth-chattering rumble sounded from outside, which was nothing less than the Border itself expressing displeasure at being wrenched open once more. "Outsiders, then. Wonder what they're up to now?"

"Probably got a lead on that friend of theirs . . ." replied Marisa.

"I know that tone. I don't like that tone. Polite society winces when it hears that tone. Learned sages lock up their books, and everyone else locks their underwear drawers-"

"What the hell, ze? Where did this rumor come from that I steal panties?"

"I have no idea. I think Patchouli might have started spreading it, out of spite."

"I see. Memo to self: Master Spark Patchy's face off next time I'm visiting."

"I shall remind Miss Patchouli to invest in a faceguard when I return to the Mansion . . . and put a lock on the Mistresses' wardrobes." said Sakuya, between sips of tea.

Suddenly the door banged open again, and Reimu turned a glare of intense fury upon Marisa. "You did _WHAT_ to my donation box?!"

"Aw, jeez, calm down, I was just seeing if you were even paying attention, or if the Outside girls had you too wound up."

"Oh, well in that case I semi-forgive you. And- oh, hey Alice. I thought you were still mad at Marisa?"

"I am. But we had a little making up ("and out!" Marisa added, to which Alice smirked and Reimu grimaced in disgust) session, so we came here to see what was happening."

"Well, I've got Aya wandering around looking for someone-"

"Hold on, you've got Aya in on this now? Are you mental?"

"No, just desperate, I suppose. Anyway, the pink one-"

"The dangerous one, you mean."

"Yes exactly and stop interrupting me," replied Reimu, fingering an ofuda. "As I was saying, they sensed their friend on the other side of the Barrier, so we came back here in record time. So now they're off to get her back, and out of my hair." Reimu locked gazes with Marisa for a minute, then the shrine maiden seemed to deflate. "You want to go help them."

"Well, yeah, ze."

"Let me reiterate: This is a band of stupid, violent, nonconformist magicians, from the Outside World no less. We've had contact with these girls for less than a day, and in that time they've been nothing but hostile, we owe them absolutely nothing, in fact we should probably be rooting for whatever "other team" they're fighting, so they whittle each other down, and you'd be violating a direct order from Yukari Yakumo-"

"Not a direct order, ze! She said 'you can't joint the recon team', she never said anything about not going Outside at all. Besides, I've played all of Sanae's video games, the Outside can't be that bad."

"Ugh, why do you try to split hairs with all the most powerful- wait, when did you play her games?"

"Oh, when you and her were having a 'who can brown-nose Byakuren the hardest' contest after dealing with that Miko chick." Reimu flushed scarlet at the characterization of her time at Myouren Temple."

"Temper, Hakurei-san. Don't lose your mind over what Marisa said, she's not likely to give it back." Sakuya added, right when Reimu went to speak. For a moment, the shrine maiden just stood there and spluttered, making about the same noise as a plugged teapot right before it bursts.

"Alright, fine." Reimu whipped out two ofuda, one red-stamped and the other black-stamped and handed them to Marisa. "Try not to come back-"

"Without the new girls, got it, ze!"

"Actually, I was going to say try not to come back at all." Reimu gave Marisa a very sarcastic look before kicking open the door. The shrine maiden hefted the Yin-Yang Orb and tore the Border open yet again, setting the girls' teeth on edge. Marisa and Alice both stepped up to the portal, when Reimu caught the puppeteer's sleeve. "Wait, where are you going?"

"Where does it look like?"

"Are you crazy?!"

"No, but I am acquainted with her," replied Alice, with a sidelong look at Marisa. "Besides, as Marisa reminded me earlier I haven't gotten to be in on an Incident since Reiuji required a manual attitude adjustment."

"Ugh, whatever. Just get going." _May the gods grant you speed and safety,_ prayed the maiden of Hakurei Shrine as her two friends stepped through the portal into the path of danger once more.

* * *

_Excellent work, Unit 952._ Simply hearing the Purifier speak was a shock for Nova. She had not expected to still be conscious by now, and so it took a minute for the white-haired girl to comprehend what had been said.

"W-what . . . do you mean?"

_Your little outburst caught the attention of your friends. Even now they are on their way here. You have saved us much energy in trying to find and eliminate them, well done._

"Hah . . . if you t-think you'll get the better . . . of that meeting-" Nova spat into the darkness and tried to ignore the fact it had tasted like blood."Well, as Kyōko would say, you're a fucking idiot."

BGM: Alstroemeria Records - Harmony - "Dark Road"

_Hang in there Nova, we're coming!_ Madoka focused her thoughts on the missing girl and got a weak but positive response. The pink-haired Puella Magi pointed her companions in the right direction, toward the outskirts of town. Homura dropped into a shallow dive, her eyes narrowed. _That feels like a Witch's Barrier._

_Akemi-san, give us a vector, please._ A new "voice" hit the link- Hitomi. _Mami sensed you all returning to Mitikahara. Everything has been quiet here so far, but we'd rather group together, even if it means being on the firing line. Besides, I definitely owe these people a bad time for what they've done to my friends._

_Very well. I believe it is time to dispense punishment!_ The unusual Barrier proved to be no bar to the Puella Magi, who hit the ground running. Shadows writhed upon shadows, teasing at primal fears, but the girls remained linked and did not give in to mere phantoms. Then the guardians appeared, and their fears were suddenly very real.

"Shit!" spat Kyōko as her blades flashed out, eviscerating a . . . _thing_ which had just leaped at her face. The mortal remains _flopped_ upon the ground in a most disconcerting way, and the air was filled with a vile hum, like the sound of many dogs growling just out of the range of hearing. And then the space around the girls lit up with many pairs of glowing red eyes. At once, the monsters all reared back and pounced.

Swords blurred and cut, and bodies were impaled at lancepoint or stuck through with arrows as if glad for it. Vines began to twist and thrash at the girls' feet, slaying the attackers by the dozen. But it was not enough. Madoka and Homura drew and shot and drew again as fast as their arms could work, and still the monsters came on. Kyōko whirled and stabbed and slashed and cursed, and though the ground around her was clogged with corpse-stuffing, still the monsters came on. Sayaka had the worst luck of all, her crusader's lance was clogged with bodies to the point where she could no longer bring it to bear, so the weapon fell away, useless. From the ground there came an awful chewing sound, and Madoka shrieked in horror as her protective brambles disappeared into a hundred hungry mouths. And still the monsters came on.

Sayaka swiped at the ground and snatched up one of the pests, and then she quailed with terror at what was in her hand; the monster looked much like a Kyubey, if the Incubator had been charred black and all of the soft deceptive cuteness in his body had been replaced with sharp-edged evil. _I see . . ._ Homura barked out a laugh. "I should have known this world would contain such cruelty."

"What the hell-" Kyōko paused just long enough to cut down two more of the little monsters. "-are you talking about?"

"These beasts," Homura threw out a salvo of explosive arrows, which lit up the twisted void of the Barrier, giving a glimpse at the multitudes of monsters awaiting their own turn. "They are a product of the Incubators."

"What?!"

"It would appear that breaking away from their grand plan has consequences. No matter-" Homura snapped out a kick, and was rewarded with the _crunch_ of a Reductor breaking over the toe of her boot. The black-haired Puella Magi showed her disdain for the carpet of monstrosities with a flick of her hair. Arrows sailed into the darkness, bursting with flashes of light and noise, and tossing bits into the air. The horde surged forward aggressively, having fixated upon Homura as the most valuable target. "There are also consequences for disrespecting us. Hitomi, that would be your cue."

The green-haired Puella Magi smiled in a nasty way as she stepped into the circle of fighters, having used Homura's brazen actions as a distraction to get close. Hitomi hefted her axe, and her Soul Gem blazed with light. "_IRON TEMPEST!_" came the cry, and suddenly there were blades everywhere, and everywhere where the blades were, there were clouds of Reductor fluff choking the air.

It was as though the nonspace recognized its' defeat- the Reductors suddenly fled and the void gave way to a dome of non-light; it was as if the scene had been carved from darkness, and the Puella Magi could observe the forms contained within without ever being able to actually see them. Nova they knew well, and there was a gasp of revulsion and anger as they saw how their friend had been treated. The other . . . the being standing over Nova looked to be a man-shape that had been roughly carved out of a nightmare.

An arrow led the way, shrieking across the void- only to be pinched between two fingers and casually discarded. A laugh, cold and laced with superior smugness trickled into the minds of the Puella Magi._ How very wasteful of you, Homura Akemi. How very . . . human. You can manifest only eleven thousand, eight-hundred and sixty-three more shots of that strength before your Soul Gem is completely exhausted. You had best make them count._ Another arrow appeared in Homura's hand, and her bow bent to send it upon its' way. _Do not bother sending one of your explosive specials at me. Oh yes, I know all of your tricks. Unit 952 tried so hard, but in the end . . . _she_ . . . divulged everything. _A minute curl of a finger caused a drill armature on the interrogation frame to spin up and bend to its' grisly work.

Two thunderclaps echoed through nonspace, followed by the clatter of two empty muskets being tossed down. The Purifier simply leaned back upright from where he had dodged, while the drill armature dropped away, smoking and sparking. _Mami Tomoe. I knew you would respond first. Under that cool shell of yours, you are the weakest of Unit 952's recruits. So much like a glass figurine- simply apply pressure and you crack. And now you are going to whip that ribbon about,in your oh-so-flashy manner, and fire off that mighty spell of yours. 'Tiro Finale' I believe you call it? Oh, but do be sure of your target, for while I might be discomfited by the strike, I would hate to see what it would do to poor Unit 952 if you miss._

_Or would that even matter now? You know there is a reason Homura Akemi was so cold to you when she began her final cycle- she had seen from the previous cycles how pathetic you really are. Bad enough that you were guaranteed to fail first; you or that blue-haired moron back there, both of you were always more a hindrance than a help. But do you know why she could not stand you? It is because when you inevitably fail, you have a bad habit of taking others with you. When it was the blue-hair it was not as bad, but those times when you killed Kyōko were the hardest for her._

_Do not look so surprised. Kyōko Sakura possesses a commodity which is exceedingly rare in your kind; honesty. And that simple, open nature was something Homura began to rely upon. Tell me, Homura, how many times did you manipulate poor Kyōko to take care of your selfish needs? How many times did you prostitute her with the worthless currency of food and false friendship? Did you even dream of what form Madoka Kaname's thanks would take any longer, or were your sights already lowered to the easier goal-_

"That's enough." Mami set her ribbon to looping in a lazy circle. "I care not what Homura may or may not have done in the past. She is our friend, and precious to us. Say whatever you like, it doesn't matter. We humans put great stock in those things that are precious to us, and when it comes to defending them, we will never back down." Now the ribbon was whirling in a complex pattern from which it suddenly cracked out at the Purifier, and Mami gave voice to her power. "_DONO DI AMICIZIA_"

Again, loathsome mirth roiled the minds of the Puella Magi. _Is that all?_ The Purifier's head was cocked barely an inch to the side, where the ribbon stretched taut as it passed. _Your lofty speech, your noble ideals, and for all that, you missed?_

"Actually, she didn't." The Purifier turned in an instant to confront the voice, but it was not quick enough. Nova's huge baton bled angry red light as the restored Puella Magi slammed her weapon into the Purifier with bone-crunching force. A knife-hand strike was unable to land as thorny branches grasped the Purifier's arm, and arrows and musket balls pounded into its' flesh.

The Barrier gave way suddenly, and the girls found themselves on a street by the docks, and the Purifier was evaporating into smoke. _You have only delayed, not denied, your fate._ And then the smoke settled upon a gang tough who had been drawn from his errands by the commotion, and the man began to scream in a most unnatural way.


	4. Fantasy Seal

**Episode 4 : Fantasy Seal**

"That . . . looks like a bad thing," Kyōko Sakura was watching the fell smoke that had been the Purifier consume a hapless thug. The body was twisting in ways which seemed most unhealthy.

"It's a Sorrow Graft," said Nova as she watched the hideous transformation. "Now would be a good time to start running." as she said that, the ex-Incubator was already backpedaling.

"Do I want to know?" Kyōko asked.

"In about a minute he's going to become a Warlock- remember Hashihime? Like that, only with full awareness and control." Kyōko swallowed hard. Hashihime had been the Witch born of Mami's downfall, and Kyōko personally had kissed Death on the lips in the process of taking her down.

"We can't run." Sayaka looked pensive as she hefted her lance and aegis.

"Uh, Blueberry, I know you love the whole 'honor and justice' schtick, but sometimes we gotta cut our losses and run!"

"No. I mean we _can't_ run. You think that thing will just let us go? I'd rather fight here than let it have a chance to split us up and take us in chunks."

"Damnit." Kyōko shook her head. "You really need to stop being right all the time!"

"May I suggest repositioning at the least? It would be foolish not to gain an advantageous position." Homura glanced around, looking for a suitable spot. "There. The narrow alleyway will allow us to concentrate fire."

Kyōko smirked as she looked at the space Homura indicated. "Heh, old times, huh Blueberry?"

"Indeed," snarled Sayaka.

The Warlock was on the move, horribly fast and every inch a killing machine dressed in a lace of black iron armor, much like the casing of a Grief Seed. A knot of obscene darkness rested over the creature's heart in mockery of the girls' Soul Gems, and razor-sharp butchering talons 30cm in length extended from its' fingers. This monstrous figure entered the alleyway in a rush, leaping a full 3 meters off the ground in its' charge so as to deny the Puella Magi an aimed shot to start the fight.

A deep _crump_ shook the air and a wave of bloody red light pulsed out from Nova's baton, ensnaring the Warlock and granting the Puella Magi a moment of celerity. The spell didn't stop time like Homura's old repertoire, but it may as well have for the effect it had. In that instant arrows and scattershot filled the sky, striking sparks everywhere and pitting and tearing the metal flesh of the Warlock. A creme pie impacted the monster's face right as the spell wore off, exploding into ravenous flame. Sayaka met the monster with her lance stretched out and braced like a sarissa pike of old.

The Warlock shrugged off the hail of fire and batted away the lance with a swipe and a second slash sent a dissonant screech into the air as the claws dragged over Sayaka's aegis. Then the monster spun and accepted an axe blow across the shoulders in order to take a swipe which would have ripped the blunette's spine clear out if Kyōko hadn't been there to parry. A musket ball flattened upon the Warlock's face, staggering it but not stopping it, and neither did the rose branches grabbing at the monster's feet.

BGM: Alstroemeria Records - Abandoned Dancehall - MSTRSPRK

A subsonic hum filled the air as the Warlock plowed through Madoka's snare, and then Homura wrapped up the pink-haired girl with her wings and ducked aside as Mami bolted as well, pulling Charlotte with her, and the monster was clear of the Puella Magi and their ambush. Then a bar of white-hot destruction slammed into the Warlock and blew it clear of the alley entirely.

"And fuck you too buddy," said Marisa Kirisame as she primed the Hakkero reactor for another shot. Outside the Warlock was shaking off the damage, but it was certainly worse for wear, its' armor and flesh sagging and pitted from the energies expended into its' form.

_Interesting. So there are more forms of sorcery besides our own here._ The Warlock set up for another attack, its' blind gaze passing over each of the Puella Magi in turn before settling upon Mami with monstrous hunger. Talons snapped out to make the attack and the Warlock darted forward- only to have its' momentum checked by an invisible wire which wrapped around its' ankle. The appendage came completely off and then the angelhair puppeteering wire retracted at Alice's whim. Immediately the ground sprouted rose branches which bound the Warlock further.

"Care to do the honors?" asked Alice as she observed the fallen monster. Mami unwound her ribbon and conjured the massive pistol-cannon which was required for Tiro Finale. There was an unexpected note of spite in the blonde gunner's voice as she lowered the barrel for the coup de grace. "Yes, I certainly would." said Mami as she drew the hammer back.

_You think that will stop us? Even if I do not live to see it, I relish knowing that the Overseers will annihilate all of you for what you have done. And do not think your precious Gensokyo will survive either. Know this, Unit 952, the blame for every death which _will_ occur is yours to-_ The Warlock's words ended suddenly to an apocalyptic _BOOM_ as Mami squeezed the trigger. "Like hell it is!" snarled Mami as the smoke cleared, causing the other Puella Magi to recoil in shock at her harsh words. There was nothing left to mark the passing of the Purifier's monster, save for a Grief Seed stuck by its' pin into the concrete.

"Hey, what's with the keepsake there?" Marisa was looking at the Grief Seed with some curiosity. Homura snatched up the precious trinket and held it up to her Soul Gem. The black-haired girl was slightly alarmed at how quickly the corruption was torn from her gem- this Seed was a cut above the typical Witch's leavings.

"This is how we recharge our magic. Every time a Puella Magi uses her powers, she becomes tainted to a degree. Too much taint, and she falls and becomes what we call a Witch, a mindless tool of death and destruction. It is the inevitable fate which we all face."

"Harsh, ze. Why would you do such a thing, then?"

"Because they were deceived and coerced in a manner most cruel." Nova accepted the Grief Seed when Homura handed it to her, and the white-haired girl pressed her Soul Gem to the seed, and sighed in relief as the precious stone regained most of its' opalescent sheen. "There is a race of monsters who live out there, beyond the stars. They have forsaken every precious thing which makes life worth living in the pursuit of a goal which is beyond the means of even magic." The furious intensity in Nova's eyes was enough to make Marisa take a step back out of concern for what might happen next. "The magic is a drug, and the Incubators are the pushers. All they want is to get humans addicted so they can take and take and take from them to feed their depraved goal. You should believe that monster when it says that a doom is coming. The Overseers will stop at nothing to ensure that their project is not disrupted in any way. I would advise you to seek shelter, if there was a place that could be called safe."

"And how do you know so much about these monstrosities and their motives?" Alice voiced her question with curiosity tinged with suspicion.

"How do you think?" Nova snapped back, squeezing the Grief Seed in her fist until blood ran freely from her hand. "I used to be one of them. I was the one who contracted all the Puella Magi here. All of these wonderful girls are damned, because of me."The ex-Incubator hurled the mangled wreckage of the Grief Seed into the shadows.

"Nova-chan, everyone, let's head home, ok? It wouldn't do to doze off during the second day of school!" Madoka was still sunny even with everything which had happened, but Homura and Sayaka could sense that the pink-haired girl was putting on a very brave front to try to keep their spirits up.

"Why?" Nova's voice cracked, and there was something terrifying lurking beneath. "What's the use? You're all dead, just as soon as the Overseers get here. Just go home, settle your affairs, kiss each other goodbye, whatever it is you Humans do to get ready for the end." The white-haired girl dropped to her knees and began sobbing. "It's over. I'm so sorry. Please believe me. I never meant for this doom to come."

"Nova-chan, please! Don't give in now!" Madoka took the ex-Incubator's bleeding hand in both of hers, and Nova flinched and turned away when she caught sight of the pink-haired Puella Magi's big liquid eyes staring at her. The look was too painful to confront, for it was the same look which had been on Madoka's face when she had made her wish. _When she damned me, all of us, to this fate._

"I should hate you. Why do you do it? Why would you stand and fight in the face of certain doom? All you can do is earn more suffering. Why-" A hand upon Nova's shoulder cut off her rant, and the white-haired girl opted for fresh tears instead.

"Because, that's what it means to be human." Kyōko gave Nova a reassuring squeeze, shook a Pocky stick loose from her ever-present pack, and tipped it to her lips. "Even when you're so hungry your body starts eating itself, even when you're too hurt to stand, even when you know that you cannot win. Even then, you stand, you hold your head up high, and you fight. And in that sacred space between where the world says you're done and you finally finish, that is where miracles are born. Look at me." Kyōko looked into Nova's eyes, red against red, and in between them she held two Soul Gems- a bloody red ruby and a dirty white opal. And before Nova's wondering gaze, Kyōko pressed the gems together, and a jolt hit the white-haired girl right beneath as the corruption fled from her Soul Gem into Kyōko's. Nova's gem was still not clean, but it shone as brightly as anytime since she had been captured. "I will fight to the last scrap of light in my soul for you, because you are my friend and you deserve no less."

"And don't think I'm a pushover either, ze!" Marisa smirked and casually spun her Hakkero on the tip of her finger. "I've spanked gods and sent 'em to bed with no supper (literally, cuz Suwako's a real bitch some times). I don't really like most of the people in Gensokyo, and the feeling's mutual most days, but anybody wants to fuck with them, they've got a beatdown coming, and I do house calls, ze!"

"Although I feel I should point out something." Sayaka mused upon the situation. "Being a human is cool and all, but when you made your wish, you probably should've kept that Kyubey trick where your body is made out of fluff and you can always come back, chow down, and-" Something somewhere between a cough, a sob, and a guffaw came from Nova, and if looks could kill, Sayaka would be losing a cat's worth of lives at the moment.

"Didn't they include any sensitivity training at Deputy Constable school Blueberry?"

"Uh, no, there wasn't really any school-"

"Exactly my point, so shaddup!" Nova took the opportunity to rise.

"I d-don't deserve friends as good as all of you. So I guess that means I just need to work harder, huh?"

"Yeah, that's the spirit, Nova-chan!"

"We need to get going. Marisa Kirisame, is there some way we can contact you tomorrow? We need to plan a response for when the Overseers arrive."

"Uh, yeah, I think-" Alice laid a hand on Marisa and gently turned her aside. The Shanghai Doll floating at the puppeteer's right shoulder floated over to "stand" in the air before Homura, where the tiny figure made a curtsey.

"Speaking to Shanghai here is the same as speaking to me. Let me know when you are free and we shall arrange a meeting."

". . . very well." Homura considered the little blonde doll. "Go to Madoka. It will look more believable for her to be carrying a doll around in public." To Homura's bemusement, Shanghai curtseyed and flitted over to Madoka. The Puella Magi and the magicians then parted ways to recuperate and make ready for the next round.

* * *

After a fast meal at a ramen stand (Kyōko's insistence), the girls parted ways- Sayaka called her father to officially smooth things over for Madoka and Hitomi, who both arrived home to worried parents. A quick conference of whispers occurred while the Deputy Constable was on the phone with her Captain, and it was decided that Sayaka and Kyōko would be staying at Homura's apartment in order to sort out the situation. The requirement of a detailed report was reiterated, and there was a little chuckle as Sayaka mimed putting some of the more . . . _fantastic_ parts of the evening's encounter into a standard report form ("and then the allied personnel retaliated with a large-caliber love-powered photonic beam weapon . . ."). All in all, the party arrived at Homura's apartment in good spirits, considering what the evening had thrown at them.

Things started unraveling as soon as the girls stepped inside, however. First off, there was the apartment itself; During her time-traveling days, Homura had gone for a decoration style that could best be described as "photoelectric postmodern", and there was the matter of that giant axe-bladed pendulum clacking back and forth."Well, I can see why you and Madoka always go to the mall for dates," was Sayaka's opinion of the decor.

Homura decided to bite the bullet and get the worst out of the way. "I know you are wondering about the validity of the claims that were made."

"Nah, I know better than to trust smack-talk, especially from a character that shifty." was what Kyōko said, but her eyes told a different story.

"Your concerns would not be unfounded." Homura held up her Soul Gem; her eyes were hollow and dead. "Understand I do not particularly wish to show you these memories, but I need there to be no distractions for when we face this new threat."

"Hey can I come too? I'm always looking for new tricks to make her squirm!" Sayaka quipped, but when she saw Homura's face, the blunette was profoundly glad the other Puella Magi no longer had ready access to high-caliber firearms.

"Very well. It's not like it can hurt any worse." The three Puella Magi pressed their Soul Gems together.

_A flash of deja vu- going from Homura's living room . . . to Homura's living room. Made even worse by the transposition effect of seeing things from Homura's point of view. Somewhere inside Homura's mind, Kyōko shivered as she observed herself: long-legged and lean _(god-damn! was I really that skinny?) _and dressed in trademark teal hoodie and short-shorts. Her clothes were ratty and dirty, as was her hair. But worse was the look on her face- an expression of such world-weariness, Kyōko was afraid to hear the circumstances. _

_Worse was the hunger- a palpable feeling of longing and loathing. At this time, Homura wanted to bite into Kyōko like the red-haired girl would bite into an apple, whether to consume or just destroy, not even Homura herself knew. Time resumed._

_"That stupid fucking girl. I can't believe this! I was starting to like her too. Y'know, get her goody-two-shoes scuffed up a bit and she mighta been a keeper. Funny how that works." The memory-Kyōko fished up an orange from somewhere and began peeling it._

_"There was nothing you could have done to change the outcome." This was Homura, deadly cold as always. Only not- from their perspective inside the black-haired Puella Magi's mind, they could see just how much Sayaka's death had hurt. Memory-Homura gave a strong sense of indignation over the death, and the implications for fighting the Walpurgis, but there was a current beneath that which put truth to the lie; Homura was hurting from the death, and whipsawing about from dealing with the death so soon after losing and grieving for the blue-haired girl in the previous cycle._

_"Maybe not, but there should be. Fuck God with a jackhammer! Why did He have to be such a bastard and take away a girl with stuff goin' for her, instead of a useless piece of trash like me. Fuck this." Kyōko popped to her feet and went for the door, but Homura was faster. The two "passengers" in the memory were disturbed when the world suddenly went gray and Kyōko froze like a statue. Homura crossed the distance slowly, vibrating with tension. A feeling of determination infused the meld, the same emotion that comes into play when the "Road Closed" sign appears and instead of playing it safe and sane, tells the right foot to stomp the gas pedal to the floor. Homura released time to flow at its' own whim and instant before slipping her arms around Kyōko and hugging her tight from behind. The redhead flinched but did not make any of the swift nasty moves Homura knew she was capable of to break the hold._

_"You want to do something useful? Stay here. With me."_

"There. Now you know, how I was. Can you still accept-" Homura was interrupted as Kyōko and Sayaka both enfolded her in a hug.

"I know I've asked this before, but how in hell do you even get up in the morning with all that pain?"

"It's not- I'm o-okay now, because my wish came true."

"Oh come on! If you were willing to share a memory like that, be a pal and don't follow it with a lie that cheap!" Kyōko's voice was going husky, but Homura was in no condition to notice. "It'll be okay. You're safe now. We're here, and we're not going away."

"It's okay, you can let the past go. It's over, it's done, you won, you don't have to go through another cycle again. I promise." Sayaka spoke into Homura's other ear. "And I'll keep telling you that until you believe it."

"Why?"

"I swear if I hear that question one more time tonight, I'm gonna scream." Sayaka tilted her head so she was looking Homura in the eye. "It goes like this: You're our friend, we care about you. And I know you haven't been sleeping well, and you're still holding onto Madoka the object to the detriment of Madoka the person. And you want to be the brain of our team- which is fine, I sure don't want the job, but that means you need to be smart and focused. Now, are you going to listen to advice or are we gonna have to tie you up?"

"I was not aware you were into such things, Sayaka Miki."

"Yeah, well keep flirting with me and you'll find out." Sayaka put her hands on her hips and grinned, although without Kyōko's fangs, the effect was muted.

"Is that a challenge?"

"No, a promise."

". . . I see." A large yawn overtook Homura. "Interesting as all this may be, I believe any further discussion will need to wait for the morning. Please, make yourselves comfortable."

* * *

"So we have another Incident forming, huh?" Reimu was leaning against the archway leading to the Hakurei Shrine, sipping tea and looking up at the moon. "Feels strange, to have the Incident come to us. Not sure if I like it."

"Well I am sure; I do not like this turn of events." Sakuya was idly playing with one of her many knives as she spoke. "These people, both our supposed allies and their enemies, they do not play by the rules. We can expect to be in danger at all times."

"What I would like to know is this: Can we strengthen the Border to repel these new foes should they choose to invade?" As she spoke, Alice was binding a fresh Hourai doll to her puppetstrings, ever the professional combat magician.

"I don't know." Reimu exhaled slowly, trying to let some of her frustration out. "It's almost like the Border is more there to keep us _in_ than keep anything _out_. I mean, with as much strange stuff that shows up here, without anybody actually trying to push it through, anybody who actually _tries_ is probably gonna punch right through."

"What do you propose then? I do not plan to sit idly by as invaders run roughshod over the good people of Gensokyo-"

"Yeah, that's my job, ze!" Reimu rolled her eyes at Marisa's outburst, but the shrine maiden was laughing along with the other girls.

"As it so happens, I do have an idea, and I'll need your help Alice." The puppeteer cocked an eyebrow at the request. "Your dolls work by a form of telepresence, yeah? I want to see if I can rig up a similar system so that I can sense when someone breaches the Border, where, how, and how many."

"I would have thought the Border already included such a function," replied Alice, with a measure of both curiosity and distaste.

"Yeah, so would I." Reimu scowled. "Anyway, I want to get the Border prepared and get some fighters in here who aren't afraid to get dirty and then we can run these bastards off. Of course, there's always Plan B."

"Hey, don't keep us in suspense, ze!"

"I was going to offer Flandre a pound of cookies for every invader she 'kyuu!'d."

"Bold of you to say so in front of me, Hakurei-san." Sakuya casually worked a knife underneath one fingernail, plying the weapon so the edges cut the moonlight.

"Perhaps. Frankly I hope things don't get bad enough that I would feel the need to beg for Remilia's assistance."

"Indeed."

* * *

_This is not what I had in mind._ Homura awoke to find she was not alone in her bed. At some point, Kyōko and Sayaka had joined the black-haired girl, laying on either side of her, entirely chaste in their pajamas. _Definitely not how I would have preferred them to "make themselves comfortable". But I'll take it anyway._ "Rise and shine!" called Homura, but all she got in return was groans.

"D'we have to?" Kyōko smacked a pillow over her head and tried to burrow into the matress.

"Last one dressed and ready doesn't get breakfast." was Homura's reply. _Impressive_, thought the black-haired girl a minute later as she witnessed Kyōko all but teleport into her uniform and thence to the kitchen table. _I didn't know anyone could move that quickly._

Classes were a drawn-out affair, with eight jumpy Puella Magi all empathically jabbering at each other. Lunchtime felt as though it had been a week in arriving, instead of only a few hours. Homura sought out Madoka and pulled her aside before the other girls arrived.

"I need to tell you before you find out from . . . other sources. Kyōko and Sayaka invaded my bed last night. I want to assure you that nothing untoward happened between us." Homura had not been expecting giggles for a response, but giggles were what Madoka gave her.

"It's okay, Homura-chan! I trust you. And, I know you and Kyōko still like each other, just as Sayaka and I still like each other. Love isn't exclusive, Homura-chan, I don't own you just because we're together."

"Although I gotta say Pinkie, I think Hugpillow here wouldn't mind if you owned her," added Kyōko with a smirk. The look Homura gave the redhead in return was nothing short of murderous. Madoka placed one hand on Homura's shoulder. _Hey that sounds like a great idea! Kyōko-chan, can you help me pick out a leash?_

Homura froze as a blast of horror and fear shook her, but her composure was such that nothing but a sudden cold stiffness showed on her face, even as other unnameable thoughts boiled up within the black-haired girl in the wake of the initial shock. Strangely though, Kyōko didn't seem to notice, and wasn't taking the risque opening which Madoka had left her. _My apologies, Homura-chan, but I needed something strong with which to check. _Madoka smiled gently at Homura. _If we're touching, I can pass messages through the link without anyone else hearing._

_You could have warned me beforehand!_

_Again, I apologize. I hadn't expected it to hit you so hard. Will you forgive me, Homura-chan._

_Yes, I can forgive you. I simply wasn't prepared to hear you say something like that._

_Sorry. Will you be okay?_

"Yes, I think lunch sounds like a good idea," Homura spoke aloud, in order to allay any suspicion from the other girls. _I will be okay, _thought Homura deep within herself. _Just as soon as I sort out these inappropriate feelings and dispose of them._

Lunchtime allowed the Puella Magi to set aside some of their tensions and the afternoon went smoother for the beleaguered teachers of Classes 1-A and 3-B. Soon enough, the girls had reconvened on the roof. Madoka in particular was grinning ear to ear; she had received several compliments on the new "charm" on her backpack at the end of the day, but nobody had noticed that the cute doll in the blue dress seemed to be watching them as they inspected her, or that Shanghai occasionally switched the hand with which she held on to the carabiner clip, as though her arm was getting tired.

"So, a thought," ventured Homura. "We need to keep some people on this side, just in case something happens. I would like for myself, Madoka, and Charlotte to stay here and the rest of you to go to the other side." Homura was not surprised at all when this was met with a chorus of "what?!" and "why me?!" from both teams.

"Well, let's see here: Madoka, Charlotte and I make the best skirmish team. If anything major happens on this side we'll need to keep moving and not get trapped, whereas the Red Oni, the Blue Oni, and the Green Oni would just dig in their heels and get a beating." This drew dirty looks from all three "oni", but none of them could refute what Homura had said. "Hitomi and Nova need to be properly introduced to the other side, and Mami should go to provide ranged fire for you all."

Sayaka raised her hand. "Homura-sensei, what's our role on the other side then?" the blunette managed to lay considerable sarcasm into her voice while still asking an honest question.

"Simple, that world is full of nonsense, I thought you'd be right at home."

"Oh yeah? Well, see if we ever invite _you_ to anything fun again!" Sayaka stuck out her tongue.

"I would be most pleased if you made good on your threat, actually." Homura then plucked Shanghai off Madoka's backpack and shooed the mobile doll over to Sayaka. "Now, please make all due haste."

"Yeah yeah yeah!" Sayaka gave a dismissive wave to Homura as she turned to orient herself toward the crossover point. "(Clearly, Madoka is neglecting her wifely duties.)" muttered the blunette where only the other members of her team could hear.

* * *

Reimu was beginning to get annoyed by her situation. Even worse, she was ashamed about the reason for her frustration, which annoyed her even further. Put simply, the shrine maiden had come to the sudden realization that she had a bit of a crush on Marisa Kirisame. The annoying part was that the realization had only come from watching Alice Margatroid waltz in and steal the blonde magician away. _It's funny, I never really thought about it. I figured she'd always just . . . _be_ here. It's my own fault I suppose. I should have said something. But I guess it's hard to confess when you can't even tell yourself how you feel._

"Hakurei-san, the Outsiders are calling, they're ready to come across." Alice herself had suddenly appeared before Reimu. On the surface it was not terribly surprising, since Alice and Marisa had already been hanging around the shrine (_and bring your own damn tea for once!_ was Reimu's opinion on that matter), but the fact that she was so distracted that Alice could sneak up on her bothered the shrine maiden greatly.

"Yeah, alright, fine, I got it." Reimu tromped back into the shrine to retrieve the Yin-Yang orb, and to her irritation, Alice followed.

"Such hostility, is something the matter?" _Yeah, you stole the girl I wanted before I even had a chance to confess to her!_ Reimu decided not to snap out her first reply, but she was unable to completely smother her feelings.

"No, or rather nothing which can be solved at the moment."

"You know, you shouldn't hold things in. You might not get a chance to speak before they turn into regrets." Marisa was trying to be helpful with her comment, and so was unprepared for the steely flash of anger turned her way.

"Drop. It."

"Jeez! Don't get your knickers in a twist, ze!"

The portal crackled and boomed open, permitting five figures through. Reimu ground her teeth; the girls were laughing and chatting happily, and the red-hair and blue-hair were holding each other's hand, the perfect image of young love. Before she consciously knew what she was doing, a thin warm rectangle of vellum was between Reimu's fingers. The shrine maiden looked down to realize she had not merely pulled one of her ofuda, but something much worse. _Spirit Sign ~ Fantasy Seal_ read the complex, richly-painted characters upon the face of the card.

"Right. Alice! Figure out how to best to use those girls and get me that border-warning spell working!" Reimu floated up off the ground. "I'll be back later!"

"Wait! Where are you going!" A thoroughly confused Alice looked up at the shrine maiden hovering in the sky.

"Out. Away. Somewhere. It's not like I can do anything useful anyway, since these bastards don't play by Spellcard rules!" And then Reimu leaned down and shot off past the treeline at high speed. _My, that was sudden,_ Alice mused as she watched the shrine maiden disappear. _She was fine yesterday. What could have unsettled her so quickly- oh. Oh dear._

"Whoa, what's her problem?" Sayaka was staring dumbfounded at where Reimu had been.

"I couldn't say at the moment," replied Alice, which was technically true, if not nearly the whole story.

* * *

Reimu touched down with a hard _clap_ of shoes on flagstones at Myourin Temple. This got the attention of Kyouko Kasodani, who had been sweeping up in front of the temple proper. Kyouko was one of the many youkai on Byakuren's staff, but what actual value any of them had for the temple was debatable. When Kyouko recognized the visitor, she dropped her broom and bolted inside, shouting "Yahoo! We have guests!" at the top of her lungs. _It must simply be a defect associated with that name, to be loud and incompetent,_ mused Reimu as she followed along at a more elegant pace.

"So what brings you to Myouren Temple this day, Hakurei-san?" asked Byakuren, before tea had even been served. For the Youchrist, asking such a question before all the proper formalities had been taken care of was roughly on the same level as a normal person grabbing a visitor by the throat and shaking her while screaming "Gods of hellfire what are you doing here?!"

"I need some spiritual advice." was Reimu's answer, to which Byakuren cocked an eyebrow in a manner which suggested that throat-grabbing-and-shaking might be imminent. "Well, who else was I supposed to turn to? I mean, Mima is a _spirit_ and she'd give me_ advice_, but I don't need any more creative ways to kill lots of people. And Suika would just advise me to consult the spirits in her gourd, and I don't need a bigger headache than I already have, what with the Outsider girls around. I could go to Sanae, but she'd just tell me to lift my concerns up to Kanako-sama, which is a lot less impressive and fulfilling when the goddess herself is sitting there in the same room, you know? Gods above, I should tell the Outsiders to bring me a baseball bat next time so I can smack the stupid out of that green-haired wannabe."

"Very well, would you like to tell me what it is you need advice upon? That may be a good place to start."

"Oh. Right." Reimu sucked in a big breath and then let it out. "Okay so it turns out I have a crush on Marisa and I didn't even realize this until she hooked up with Alice and it's really bothering me, especially since I really need both their help to deal with this Outsider mess, y'know? And so I still want to be friends with both of em too, but I still have this feeling for Marisa and yet I never really did anything with her before but now that it's not an option it really bugs me like this itch I can't scratch and . . . " Reimu trailed off and seemed to deflate.

"I see. That does appear to be a thorny problem. Have you confessed any of your feelings to either of the girls in question?" The look on Byakuren's face showed what she expected the answer to be, and Reimu hated to have to confirm with a shake of her head. "Well, I would suggest you do so. Now if I may ask, are you feeling a particular need to enter into a romantic relationship?"

"Not really? It's more, 'I never cared what was in that room until you closed the door' sort of feeling. That, or maybe the Outsiders are just bothering me. There's a pair of them, I'd call them 'red oni and blue oni', except they're both too stupid and excitable to be the blue, but there's a flirtatious sort of energy rolling off them like heat off a fire, that's probably part of it."

"Tell me about these Outsiders, are we about to have new neighbors? I heard some dreadful rumors, but nothing specific so far." Byakuren leaned in, curious now.

"Well, it appears the thing which worried Yukari is no big deal, surprise surprise. They are strange though, and their magic worries me- none of them seem to be willing to play by Spellcard rules, and worse, it seems just using magic corrupts them over time. Hina went nuts just seeing some of them."

"Such a miserable existence, I feel sorry for them."

"I would too, except apparently they've managed to anger some high mucky-muck in the celestial bureaucracy which grants them their powers, and in her infinite wisdom Marisa took a swing at the bastard too, so now their problems have become our problems."

"Oh my, that sounds bothersome. Should we be worried?"

"I don't _think_ so, but it might be prudent to be on the alert. The Outsider girls- they call themselves Puella Magi- are crafty and fight dirty, but they're not tremendously powerful from what I've heard. A couple of big-ticket Spellcards and they go running, and I heard the baddie that saw Marisa didn't much like a Master Spark to the face."

"Reimu, _no one_ likes a Master Spark to the face."

"Point." a shiver took the shrine maiden just then, and she paled as nausea rose in her stomach. "The hell . . ?"

"What is it?"

"Someone just touched my Orb! I can't think of any good reason why someone would do that, but I can think of plenty of _bad_ ones. I need to get back, apologies."

"Understood. Good fortune, Hakurei-san."

* * *

_That should get her attention!_ Alice dropped the Yin-Yang Orb back on its' pedestal and rushed out of the shrine. The puppeteer didn't need to go far; the battle line was practically at the front door. Marisa stood with her Hakkero clenched in a fist, shoulder-to-shoulder with the Puella Magi who were brandishing their own weapons. Across the courtyard stood the enemy, and for a moment, Alice felt a trickle of fear crawl up her spine. Not one, but two Warlocks stood at either side of a monstrous shadow-shape, and the whispers of fear and anger from the Puella Magi gave Alice the creature's name: _Purifier._ Before the foes spread a carpet of lesser horrors, blackened lithe shapes radiating menace.

_Excellent. Once again, you serve the cause well, Unit 952. It will almost be a shame to exterminate you. _A smile spread upon the faceless head of the Purifier revealing shark's teeth wet with venom. _Almost._

"No-" Nova pressed a hand to her chest, her eyes closed. The white-haired girl shook her head. "That is no longer who I am."

BGM: Visual Work Station - Agedum! Puella Magica! - Nocte of Desperatio

_Very well then. I shall eradicate you like the disease you are. _A casual wave of one death-black hand sent the Reductors forward, surging with hunger.

A wall of shields met the rabid monstrosities. Alice worked her puppeteering strings and the Shanghai Brigade held firm, impaling Reductors with spears the size of penknives. The little weasel-demons were tenacious however, and the line began to crumble. Teeth and claws savaged cloth and wood, but then Alice turned over a card in her hand and gave the monsters the gift . . . of inanimateness. Explosions rippled down the line, and the Reductors were themselves reduced to air pollution. Then Kyōko and Hitomi vaulted over the destruction and put the Purifier and his minions on the back foot.

Musket balls and starbursts pelted down upon the Warlocks who were also each engaged with raging blades and starting to take telling hits. The Purifier turned to relieve one Warlock of the green-haired menace boxing it in, but then a pair of musket balls bracketed the fiend's head, and the momentary interruption was enough to keep the fiend in place until Sayaka arrived to make her point clear- clear through the Purifier's midnight body, that is, and the blunette carried her shadowy foe clear to the shrine stairs with her charge.

Kyōko dropped her Warlock with a fancy chain-grapple, but at the same time the other Warlock accepted a dismembering shot from Hitomi's axe, trading an arm for the chance to smash the green-haired girl in the face with claws outstretched, and Hitomi went down with a shriek. The Purifier meanwhile simply exploded into solid smoke and flowed off Sayaka's lance, causing the blunette to choke and cough as the foul vapor passed over her. The competing calamities left Kyōko flatfooted as she tried to determine where to assist first, and in that moment the downed Warlock swept her feet from underneath her with a blood-splattering swipe.

The one-armed Warlock surged toward the girls' firing line. Mami went for her scattershot muskets, but it looked like none of them were going to get a bead in time. Marisa saw the Warlock bearing down on them and flinched as she was reminded of the last time she was assaulted in the same fashion. It was only an instant's distraction, but that was enough to dash her chances of successfully stopping the monster. Alice flicked out her puppeteering strings, hoping the angelhair thread would be tough enough to arrest the oncoming monster.

A black-and-white blur exploded through the Warlock's torso in a spray of inky ichor and then resolved itself as the Yin-Yang Orb when it slammed to a halt in Reimu's hand. "Nobody gets to spill blood on the Hakurei Shrine," said the shrine maiden, her eyes flashing the ominous shade of thunderclouds. "But me." A double handful of ofuda thudded into the mortally-wounded Warlock, putting an end to its' attempts to move.

_Interesting. You are a Power within this realm. What would happen if you were to perish, I wonder?_ A long ebony tongue ran over razor-edged teeth, coating them with venomous saliva. _I shall greatly enjoy finding out!_

Sayaka's lance burst through the torso of the Purifier, momentarially lifting the fiend off the ground. _This again? How have you come so far without learning-_

"Now!" shouted Alice, and all of the Gensokyans unleashed a torrent of fire upon the remaining Warlock while its' ally was unable to provide protection. In moments the fiend broke apart under the murderous rain of power.

The Purifier returned to solidity with a vengeance, spreading beams around in all directions, causing the girls to scatter for cover. Sayaka crouched before Hitomi, protecting the wounded girl with her Aegis, while Alice called forth a handful of Shanghai dolls to soak up shots coming their way.

"Yo, Reimu! Seal that thing! I've got a Really Bad Idea." Marisa turned to Alice and winked. The puppeteer's eyes went wide for a moment, and then drew out a Spellcard.

Reimu drew out an ofuda and enchanted it with her will. Sensing danger, the Purifier focused fire upon the shrine maiden, but the Yin-Yang Orb spun about Reimu, deflecting the bolts of corruption before they could hit her as she rushed toward the fiend. As she passed, Reimu lashed out and stuck the ofuda to the Purifier's chest, which caused the fiend to flicker and jitter in place, as a video projection cut from its' source.

"Now!" shouted Marisa, raising the Hakkero reactor and unleashing its' blazing light. Alice leaped over her companion and setting her puppet-strings to dancing. A Spellcard fragment blazed in each girl's hand, Alice's yin to Marisa's yang and when the cards connected, both magicians announced the oncoming spell in one voice.

_Binary Sign ~ __Unmerciful Malice_

Angelhair sliced through the body of the Master Spark, fracturing the hungering light into 256 unique fragments spread across the rainbow who then all homed in upon the body of the Purifier individually, seeking those places where the fiend's chi ran most vigorously and annihilating them.

But in the last moment before the Purifier was truly erased from the world, its' face split open in that awful shark smile and a last bolt of darkness cracked out. Such was the strength of the empathic link that Sayaka Miki was able to cry out in pain even as the bolt tore through her Soul Gem and bit into her flesh, and then the blunette crumbled to ashes alongside her killer.


	5. Price of Life

**Episode 5 : Price of Life**

News traveled with surprising speed in the wilds of Gensokyo. Every Youkai was a predator to a greater or lesser degree, which meant they were all keenly aware of the pecking order. Right now, there was a new apex predator on the loose, and the general consensus was run!

One Youkai who hadn't gotten the memo was Mystia Lorelei. The cart from which Mystia ran her grilled-eel barbecue and night-blindness scam was a burning wreck on the side of the road, and the night sparrow herself was in similar condition, reeling from the sudden brutality which had overtaken her.

Kyōko Sakura ripped a chunk of eel from its' skewer with her teeth, grinding the morsel to mush as she grimly put one foot in front of the other, looking for something new to destroy. _God damn them all!_

_'I-I can't bring her back.', says Nova. Then why the fuck do we keep you around, useless bitch? 'I just couldn't bring her back to all this misery and bloodshed.' she says. So far the only blood that has been shed was . . . hers. And you really think the afterlife is any less miserable? Miracles are one thing, that's just naive. _

Tears had been shed for Sayaka Miki. Copious tears, from all the girls involved- except Kyōko. _I can't let myself cry for her. If I start, the tears will never stop, and then I'll end up dead too. She'd be disappointed if that happened . . . and I know I'm not a good enough person to get to go to the same eternity where she is. In the meantime, backstabbing bitches can go rot!_

Mami and Nova had clung to each other after the battle for comfort from the pain of losing their comrade. At some point during the night, simple comforting had turned into kisses, and more. The two girls had still been holding onto each other in the early morning when Kyōko gave up on the pretense of sleeping. Seeing those two together had been the last straw. Kyōko had slammed her way out of the Shrine loudly enough to shake the entire frame.

_So the Purifiers are coming, and we're all doomed? Well then, I guess I'm doing everybody a favor, getting the job done quick and early. _A nosy fairy buzzed down to investigate this red-haired newcomer, see what mischief there was to be had. An empty skewer suddenly shot out and impaled the fairy, pinning it to a tree, and then a booted foot reduced the pathetic creature to fairy dust. _Kyōko Sakura, at your service!_

* * *

Eerie silence sat over the Hakurei Shrine that morning. There was barely even any physical evidence of the previous night's battle. Only the pain remained. Sakuya Izayoi found herself in a curious position; at the moment she was making rice balls and tea alongside someone who her every instinct said was a troublesome enemy, and the meal was going to be served to other troublesome enemies. Yet for some reason, the maid couldn't help but like Madoka Kaname. Madoka herself was humming softly as she constructed the rice balls, a wan smile on her face.

"I admire you, Kaname-san. I do not see how one so young can remain so centered in the face of such a tragedy."

"Well, we have to keep ourselves together. Else, who is going to be here to welcome Sayaka-chan home when she returns?" Madoka blotted away tears with a sleeve and put the last of the food on a tray to take into the common room of the shrine. In truth, there was only one person for whom Madoka was truly concerned; even after becoming friends and then lovers, Homura had never been a very open person, but today the black-haired girl was particularly closed off. Nothing Madoka had done so far that dreadful morning had done so much as gotten a word out of Homura. _It's time to change that._ Madoka removed her apron, set herself, and marched out the back door of the shrine, where she knew Homura would be lurking.

Reimu Hakurei grabbed a riceball from the pile and bit into it without much enthusiasm. They had killed, truly killed one of the enemy's lieutenants, but lost one of their own in the process, which was not an acceptable trade in the mind of the shrine maiden. _Heh, when did she become one of 'us'? Did I even like the girl? It's certainly easier without those two around now . . . and may the gods damn me for thinking that._

Sakuya stared at Reimu as if trying to read the shrine maiden's mind. _I should not be surprised that a death would affect her so. After all, she has not seen mortality as some of us have. Even her "Spellcard" system exists to avoid bloodshed. Can she right herself in time to defeat this foe? And if the answer is no, what must I do to protect the Mistresses?_

"Uh, can I help you?" A snap of fingers accompanied Reimu's sarcastic comment, and Sakuya was startled to realize she had completely tuned out the world around her for a moment.

"Would you like some tea?" asked Sakuya to cover for her gaffe, and then she immediately placed a hand on her pocketwatch and seized time so she could hurry back to the kitchen and grab the teapot so as not to look like a complete fool.

"Sure."

* * *

Keine Kamishirasawa stood upon the road which led from Hakurei Shrine to the Human Village. There was terror in the wilds, and she intended to make sure the author of such destruction did not descend upon the village.

A figure appeared out of the murk, a Human shambling down the road, and Keine's heart clenched upon feeling the pain radiating from the girl. "Are you all right? Do you need help?" called out the beastly history-keeper.

Suddenly a thicket of spears exploded out of the ground all around Keine, ensnaring the hakutaku in a cage of steel. Another spear appeared in the hand of Kyōko Sakura, its' wicked head stained with blood just as the Puella Magi's soul was stained with despair. "never been better, tHank yoU veRy much. Try this!" Kyōko punctuated her maddened reply with a fearsomely fast strike with her scorpion spear.

Keine shrieked and tried to dodge within the tiny space given to her by the cage. It almost worked, but the edge of the spear was wet with blood when Kyōko pulled free. A hiss of pain escaped Keine's lips as she slapped a hand over the cut on her shoulder, then the spear was flying at her again.

This time, Keine thought she had the measure of her attacker, but at the last moment the scorpion spear came apart into chain-linked segments and whipped around the cage to come in at an unusual angle and again the weapon came away striped with hakutaku blood. Outside, Kyōko was wracked with a sick parody of laughter as she watched Keine stand again.

"why diD I evEr let MysElf go? i shoulda stayed _this_ way FrOm the beginning! hey you!" Kyōko thrust her spear through the cage again to get Keine's attention. "fRom _now_ on YOUr name is victim, got it? Cuz I DOn't NEED to know tHE names of the alReady dead!" Keine looked straight at Kyōko, then shook her head sadly.

"You should take a look at yourself," replied Keine. "Like this! _Land Sign ~ Three Sacred Treasures: Mirror!_" For an instant Kyōko saw a reflection of blood-drenched death, and then she was dancing away from the barrage of danmaku reaching out to destroy her. When the Spellcard finally faded away, both Keine and the cage which had held her were gone. Kyōko gripped her scorpion spear in both hands, her eyes wild like a hunted beast's.

_I have erased the history of our meeting. You shall not find me. But if it is thoughtless violence you desire, head toward the Bamboo Forest of the Lost, and I assure you there you will find all that you can handle, and then some._

"well thanks! Hope the suckEr you're sending me at Likes dying because of your tiP!" Kyōko shouldered her spear and strode off in the direction of the Bamboo Forest. _I don't need a mirror to see the truth. I already know everybody who gets near me is dead meat. As soon as I can teach them that fact, then everything will be okay._

* * *

In the spare bedroom, Mami Tomoe peeled Nova Floresca off herself and deposited the white-haired girl back in her futon. The blonde Puella Magi wanted to get well away from her still-drowsy companion before allowing herself to contemplate the thought that had occurred to her. Mami made her way out to the kitchen table and obtained a riceball and tea before mentally unpacking the previous night. _'I want to connect to life', and 'I want to understand humans'. Our wishes brought us together, it seems. But does that take away from what I felt? I know what she would say. Which is why I must not let her know what I know, for the good of our team._ The pile of riceballs brought someone else to mind.

"By the way, where is Kyōko-san?"

"She left earlier. Violently." Reimu scowled at the front door to the shrine. It appeared to be crooked.

"Oh. I see." _At this rate, we might not even have a team to worry about by nightfall._

"Homura-chan, what's on your mind?" Madoka sank to her knees next to Homura, who was hugging her knees to her chest and generally trying to appear as much like a turtle as possible. When the black-haired girl looked up, Madoka was surprised to see that tears had streaked Homura's face.

". . . I am a bad person."

"No you're not! What makes you say that!" Instead of answering, Homura simply held up her Soul Gem in an unsteady hand. Madoka pressed her own Gem to Homura's, then gasped.

"There, you see?" Madoka nodded once gravely, and Homura let her head thump back down on to her knees.

"You need to go to her." This shocked Homura enough that she looked up once more, and saw that fearsome gentle look upon Madoka's face, the one that meant the pink-haired girl and all the wickedness in the world were on a collision course, and once again the world was going to learn how to bend to accommodate Madoka Kaname.

"But why? How can you- ?"

"You shared something important with me. Let me tell you something important too, something only one other person knows." Madoka looked up into the bright sky, a wistful smile upon her face. "When I made my contract, my wish was, 'Protect my precious friends from ever suffering true sorrow'. You need to go to her, because otherwise my wish would be left unfulfilled." Homura grasped Madoka's hand and allowed herself to be pulled to her feet.

"I will. And I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's what I wished for," replied Madoka, with only a bit of a tear in her eye. "Wait here, I will pack a lunch for you."

_How can she shine so bright in this wicked world, and why must I hurt her so? If there are truly Gods or Powers in this cruel world, let it be known that Homura Akemi will go to any length that is needed to thwart this coming disaster and save that precious girl from harm. Even if I am the cause._

Homura had not been expecting an answer to her fevered prayer, but she received one anyway. A priceless treasure appeared in the Puella Magi's hand. It did not promise wisdom, only strength, and it could not bring success, only opportunity, but against the darkness tarring her Soul Gem and the agony of their battles, it was a true gift. Homura carefully pocketed the treasure, then accepted a bento box and a hug from Madoka before setting off in search of a way to remove the burden of guilt from her shoulders. _Curious. How many more twists has Fate to throw at us?_ mused Homura as she touched her pocket once more to make sure what rode there was still real.

* * *

"Reimu, may I speak with you for a moment?" Reimu looked up to see Alice beckoning her from the doorway, and her mood slumped another notch. _Great. Just what I need._ The shrine maiden smoothed down her dress with her hands, mainly to keep them away from the pockets where her ofuda and Spellcards lay, and then she stepped outside.

"What do you want? I kinda have a funeral to plan."

"At the risk of heaping pain upon agony, I need to ask, what are your feelings toward Marisa?"

"Nothing. Any more questions-" Alice held up a finger to interrupt.

"I know that to be a lie, if for no other reason than only someone who was well-acquainted with the Starlight Berzerker could attempt to tell such a blatant falsehood and think it would stick."

A slap cracked off Alice's face, and Reimu bored into the puppeteer with unbridled fury. "Get. Out."

"Or?" Alice cocked her head inquisitively, heedless of the stinging pink imprint upon her cheek.

"I've thrashed you twice already, want another?"

"Reimu, right now you couldn't beat Wriggle if she was staked to the ground."

"How dare you?"

"Dare I what, try to help you find your center again? Reimu, despite what you must think, I would like to remain your friend, and I would like to help solve this Incident before any more tragedies occur."

". . . then why did you take her from me?" tears brimmed in Reimu's eyes.

"Because I was unaware. Now I do not intend to lie to you and say 'if only I had known, I would never have confessed to her'. But I do not want you to give up either. Love and friendship is not a zero-sum game. If you think that our relationship means you can never talk to her again, that's being unfair to yourself."

"I-what do you want from me?"

"What I want, Reimu Hakurei, is for you to be true to yourself, and be true to your friends."

* * *

BGM: Crow's Claw - Brutal Games For Reminding of Death - Immortal Madness

Kyōko Sakura put one foot in front of the other. _Gotta remember what i was. shOulDa never let them make me weak. Show 'em what it means to be part of the food chain. kill em All if i haVe to. tEach em to be afraid. then Maybe they'll bE safe._ She no longer knew if she was headed toward the Bamboo Forest of the Lost, but it didn't much matter. There was a figure up ahead, offering Kyōko a challenge. That meant she was on the right path. When she got close enough, the Puella Magi took her spear off her shoulder and looked to see who would be her next victim. A bolt of ice struck the ground before the Puella Magi.

The ice fairy Cirno stood athwart Kyōko's path. Rumia and Wriggle stepped out from the undergrowth nearby, encircling the redhead. Kyōko kicked the ice away and grounded her own spear. "Hey! Bad girl! We saw what you did to Mystia. Now you're going down!" Kyōko gave only a blank look in reply. "Hey! Didn't you hear me? Eye said, you're gonna die!"

"Is that so?" The words came out in a hoarse whisper, dead as the air in a tomb. "(Hey! She stole my line!" "Shut up!)" came from the pair behind her, but Kyōko ignored them, and glanced at her Soul Gem. "Maybe you're right. Who's this Mystia girl?"

"She's our friend. You blew up her barbecue stand and hurt her!"

"Is she dead?"

"Nope! We healed her! Eye promised to bring your body back so she'd have something new to cook!"

"That's a shame. It's better to be dead. It doesn't hurt when you're dead." This struck the Nineballs as somewhat . . . _disturbed_, and they looked at their target with trepidation.

* * *

"So that's the one then?" Keine turned from her vigil over the bloody battle to nod to the newcomer at her side.

"I have seen her history, it's a tragedy really; because of her loss, she lashes out thoughtlessly, seeking violence for the sake of violence. A familiar story, if I might say so." added the history-eater, as a bit of a jab.

"Shaddup." A flame leaped from Fujiwara no Mokou's fingernail to ignite the cigarette dangling from her lips. "So I take it you want me to . . . " Mokou gestured at Kyōko, while drawing a thumb across her throat. Keine nodded. "I'm not going to enjoy this."

An arrow thudded into a stalk of bamboo just over Mokou's head, causing the phoenix to snap around to where the shot came from, flames wreathing her hands. "Do not attack her." Homura Akemi stepped out of cover.

* * *

"Ahh, whatever! There's three of us and only one of you, and that means you're _EASY PREY!_" Ice shot out toward Kyōko, leaving only a single obvious channel of safety. Powering through her new favorite spell, Cirno launched her sawblade-snowflake. Kyōko looked up to see death approaching her.

BGM: 1:41

And then the Puella Magi struck. The scorpion spear lashed out and stuck the spinning blade through its' hub, and with a twist of her wrist Kyōko wrested the saw-flake onto a new course. Rumia was caught flatfooted, she could only stare in horror as the icy weapon whizzed towards her. The little Youkai of darkness went down with a squeal of pain and then Kyōko was bounding straight for Cirno. Too dumb to be afraid, the ice fairy summoned a sword of solid ice and parried the Puella Magi's first swing. Kyōko felt a flash of deja vu as she saw the sword and Cirno's blue hair and then the redhead let out a shriek of rage and pain. The scorpion spear came apart and wrapped around Cirno's blade, smashing the heavy spearhead into the little ice fairy with devastating force. Kyōko hurled her opponent away and then brought the spear around for another pass, driving Cirno into the ground with teeth-rattling force. Panic made Kyōko's eyes nearly burst from their sockets as she spun and thrust wildly, looking for something to damage.

* * *

"Kid, I don't know who you are, but you obviously don't know who I am, or you wouldn't be making the mistake of pissing me off." If Homura was bothered by the fiery words, or the actual fire in Mokou's hands, she didn't show it.

"Please. I have fought for more than a thousand lifetimes to get what I need. Even now, I must keep fighting to take away the pain which tears at my friends. If you choose to make yourself an obstacle, I shall dispose of you as I have all the other insignificant inconveniences which have cropped up in the past." Homura punctuated her words with a contemptuous flick of her hair. Mokou locked stares with Homura for a minute, but the Puella Magi never wavered.

"Bah, whatever. Just get her outta here!" Mokou turned her back on Homura, who curtseyed slightly and ran forward to try to intercept Kyōko. _Whew. Certainly not what I had in mind for a first test,_ thought the black-haired girl, clutching her treasure in one hand.

* * *

Things were not going well for Team Nineball. After eating Cirno's first shot, Rumia had regained her feet just in time to take the full brunt of the scorpion spear alongside her head. Daiyousei had dragged the unconscious Youkai off the battlefield and then she herself had fled when Kyōko nearly impaled the fairy.

Cirno rained a veritable blizzard down upon her red-haired tormentor, trying to distract Kyōko long enough for Wriggle to line up the combination attack she was preparing. The scorpion spear came slashing in at Cirno's head, but when the ice fairy ducked, Kyōko let the spear come apart into segments and flick behind her to smash Wriggle through a stand of bamboo. Two swift steps brought the Puella Magi up to the dazed ice fairy and then Kyōko snapped a kick into Cirno's guts and sent her flying into the undergrowth.

"Kyōko! That's enough!" Homura touched down 10 meters away from the volatile redhead. "It's time to come home."

"I'm not going back. I was stupid to let her get near me, let her weaken me. Gonna go back to doing things the right way."

"No." Homura sent an arrow past Kyōko's ear. "I won't let you do that to Sayaka-"

"Goddamnit, I don't care about her!" Even in her anger, Kyōko could manage only a croaking growl for a voice, but her scorpion spear was still dangerous as she lashed out at Homura. The black-haired Puella Magi got a scratch for her troubles, but turned away the spearhead without further injuries.

"If that's how you want to play it, then fine. I won't let you do that to _me_, either!" Homura pulled forth her treasure from its' hiding place and turned the card so she could speak the words written there. "_Sorrow Sign ~ Shiganbana Bloom!_"

Red and purple spiderlilies blossomed in a carpet all around Kyōko and then exploded into showers of magic, buffeting her with their blasts. In a flash Homura was in the redhead's face, twisting her spear from her hands and flinging the weapon away. "You can't just discard your friends so easily, you know."

"Yeah? You're one to talk there Homerun!"

"I know. But a girl I once knew taught me better." Homura kicked Kyōko's foot out from beneath her and used the opening to spin the other girl around, so Homura had her in a tight embrace from behind. "She held on to me just like this when she taught me."

Kyōko stiffened as she felt hot breath upon her ear, and for a moment her heart raced, but the red-haired girl couldn't put a finger on why. Homura was as much of an enigma as ever, except Kyōko could feel her through the empathic link, vibrating like a high-tension wire just before it breaks. "H-homura, what are you d-doing?"

"I need Sayaka Miki back as much as you do, because I need to ask for her forgiveness." Kyōko felt tears soaking into her hair as Homura continued to hold on to her.

"What? Why?"

"Because, when I heard she had died, the first thing I thought was, 'now I have a clear shot'."

"W-wha? What do you mean?"

"I think I've fallen in love with you, you fool . . ." Homura sobbed into Kyōko's shoulder once more. "And I don't know why."

* * *

"You can go ahead and hate me, ze. I probably deserve it." Marisa was leaning against one of the pillars of the Hakurei Shrine gate, an irreverent smirk on her face.

"Why would I want to hate you?" Reimu was leaning on the other pillar, staring aimlessly into the sky.

"Because I'm a dumbass. I shoulda seen the signs. I didn't even think you might think of me that way, and I just went off and did the first thing that came to mind, as usual, ze."

Reimu glanced around. This was certainly not how or when she would have chosen to sort out her feelings about Marisa, but her indecisiveness had led Alice to toss the shrine maiden and the ordinary magician outside. Pairs of Shanghais floated in front of the shrine door, the gate steps, and the garden path, their lances crossed in front of each way. The sign was clear; No Admittance, not until their problems had been worked through.

"Well, you _are _pretty dense, but I didn't even know myself the other day, so we're equally guilty, at the least."

"So what do we do know?"

"I dunno. Hold a funeral for that poor girl. Kick Yukari's ass for putting this on us. Kick the Purifiers' asses for doing this. Call up Suika and get really drunk. How about all at once?"

"Now that would be something to see! Ha! The Great Hakurei Drunken Brawl!" Marisa broke down into laughter and Reimu followed, until both had slid down their respective pillars and sat there, rendered helpless by great gales of laughing.

"That . . . really wasn't that funny," said Reimu when she could talk again. "But thanks anyway, I needed that."

"Yeah, same here, ze. So," Marisa popped to her feet and extended a hand to the shrine maiden. "Friends?"

"Yeah. Friends. I like that." Reimu took the offered hand and let herself be pulled up.

From the door of the shrine, Mami watched the Gensokyans make up and felt her heart prickle. It felt good to see people getting along, but it only highlighted how much worse off her own friends were. Homura would hopefully be bringing Kyōko back soon, but the wistful sadness coming from Madoka told Mami that the homecoming would only be the start of the battle, not the end. Hitomi was still convalescing from the terrible hit she took in the battle yesterday, and Charlotte . . . there was nothing physically wrong with the younger girl, but all the empathic pain from the other Puella Magi had overwhelmed her and knocked her out. And then there was Nova. The former Incubator had devolved into a sullen lump buried within her futon-nest. _Well, there's one thing that I can fix at least._

Mami marched into the spare bedroom and seized hold of a likely-looking blanket and pulled. A yelp preceded the appearance of Nova, bleary-eyed and tear-streaked as she was. "Naa . . ." was all the white-haired girl had to say on the situation.

"Come on, let's get up and get you cleaned up at least."

"Don' wanna. What's the use?"

"The fight isn't over yet. Didn't you hear Kyōko yesterday? There's still time for a miracle or three." Mami tried to put on an encouraging smile.

"Yeah, and where is she now? No, don't bother. I heard her stomp out. Maybe she got lucky and a Youkai ate her. Be quicker than waiting for the Purifiers to come back." Nova turned away, in search of more blankets to burrow into.

Ribbons whipped out from nowhere and bound Nova's arms, pulling taut and immobilizing her. "Hey, ow! What gives?"

"I didn't want to have to do this, but you have forced my hand. Understand this, Nova Floresca; we Puella Magi defeated the Walpurgis, not you. We discovered a way to purify our Soul Gems without Grief Seeds, not you. We learned to defeat despair, not you. The way these Purifiers act, _we_ were always going to be a target. And you, you should have known better than anyone what accepting a Puella Magi contract meant. Nothing you do will change how our enemies act, but you have the choice to help us get through this."

"I- I'm sorry." Before Nova could say anything else, Mami silenced her with a quick kiss.

"Don't be sorry, just be yourself." The ribbons vanished, and Nova was free to move again. "Now let's get to work. Sayaka-san is going to be awfully mad at us for leaving her hanging this long."

"Yeah, I can hear the snark already." Mami giggled at the comment.

"That's the spirit!"

* * *

"So I gotta ask," Kyōko and Homura were nearly back to the shrine. They had spent most of the journey in contemplative silence together, once Kyōko had finished demolishing the bento box Homura had brought with her. "How did you cast one of those Cards of Doom that the Gensokyo girls use?" Homura had tensed up when Kyōko spoke, but the black-haired girl let out a sigh of relief when she heard the question.

"Oh, um, well, that was easy. I just asked."

"Huh?"

"Well, it was more like a prayer, I suppose. I wished for the ability to protect those people important to me, regardless of the cost, and I felt it . . . like a contract being sealed, the ability to make and use the Spellcards was there, in my heart."

"Huh. Well that's handy." Kyōko turned to look at Homura. "So why did you sigh just now." Homura flinched and stopped in her tracks, as though another footstep would put her into a trap.

". . . I thought you were going to ask 'why do I think I'm good enough to be in love with you' or something like that."

"Oh. Now that you mention it though, I thought you and Pinkie were, y'know-"

"Close? In love?"

"Yeah, something like that."

"I don't know. I know she loves me, but I think I could almost hate her. She's just so . . . nice, and she never thinks about herself. I admitted to her earlier what I felt, and you know what she did? She just packed up a lunch and told me to go find you."

"Hits a little too close to home, doesn't it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, here's this nice girl who goes to these extreme lengths for someone she cares about, and doesn't take care of herself at all . . ."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You, stupid!" Kyōko grabbed Homura's shoulder and shook the black-haired girl. "From the first day I met you, you were crazy-scary devoted to Madoka, and from what Sayaka told me, you were like that from your first meeting. And now look at you, you don't know what to do now that you don't have that goal, and it scares you. And you're feeling guilty about betraying her-"

"Now who are we talking about," replied Homura sourly.

". . . okay, yeah. You know what the last straw was for me? I woke up this morning and found Mami all cuddled up with that fucking ferrety bitch, and the first thought that went through my head was 'hey, since Sayaka's gone, I should at least get first dibs on Mami', and I couldn't stand that I had thought that for even a moment."

"I know what you mean. It pains me to do anything that hurts Madoka, but I cannot simply bury my feelings in a hole somewhere and not acknowledge then."

"Yeah. Now let's get back to the shrine. I'm going to get her back, even if I have to choke it out of Nova. And then, who knows? Maybe we can work out a timeshare deal or something?" A furious blush colored Homura's face.

"Kyōko Sakura, you're horrible!"

"I know. Isn't it awesome?" replied Kyōko, letting her fangs out.

Hakurei Shrine was looking much more lively when Homura and Kyōko arrived. Reimu greeted the returning Puella Magi with, "So how many angry Youkai am I going to have beating down my door to get at you two?"

"Well, I'll probably have to buy the bird-girl a new grill, and Cirno and her friends aren't going to be up and walking for a few days." was Kyōko's reply, earning a derisive snort from the shrine maiden. "Oh, and there was that girl with bento-box on her head, I don't think she was too happy." Reimu's face fell a bit at the mention of Keine.

"I met that bento-box girl too, and I might have told her and her friend with the smoking habit I'd kill them if they got in my way," added a sheepish Homura.

"You- what?!" was Reimu's reply, loud enough to cause Marisa and Alice to come running.

"What did she what, ze?" was Marisa's question to the startled shrine maiden.

"Oh, not much, she only threatened Mokou." Marisa turned to Homura with a look that was equal parts awed and horrified. Homura blanched and felt sweat beading on her forehead.

"I take it that's a bad thing?"

"Let me put it this way, ze; if we had the Fujiyama Volcano on our side, we wouldn't need to worry about your Purifiers. She's more destructive than me, and that's saying something!"

"Oh. Oops." Behind the magicians, Reimu was chanting a fervent prayer of "please don't let the shrine be destroyed _again_!"

Mami and Nova came over once the squawks of horror had ended. Nova bowed deeply before the other Puella Magi. "I'm sorry I haven't been pulling my weight lately. Thank you for putting up with me."

"S'alright." Kyōko smirked. "Or it will be, if you're about to do what I think you're about to do."

"Oh yeah! It's time to make the magic happen!" Nova palmed her Soul Gem and transformed, hefting her baton high above her head. "Ok, stand back everyone, and plug your ears!"

"What, if I may ask, are you going to do?" Reimu stood looking at Nova, perplexed.

"Well, I'm going to kick the rational order of the universe in the soft parts and get Sayaka back!" Reimu gave Nova a look that combined incredulity with a dash of 'I'm gonna stand way the hell back, in case this goes wrong'. And then the shrine maiden did so, retreating back to within the shrine proper, where she appeared to be pasting up protective charms, just in case.

Nova shrugged and raised her baton, the head glowing with intolerably bright red light. Equations of an incredibly complicated nature wrote themselves out in a box around her feet, in the strange glyph-language of the Witches and a high keening hum shook the air.

"_CAUSALITY CRASH!_"

Nothing happened. The runes vaporized and the head of the baton went dark, but otherwise there was no change. Nova seemed to wilt, one hand unconsciously going to tug on a sidelock as she looked down upon her dirtied Soul Gem.

"What happened? Where is she?"

"I don't know! It worked, I felt it work, but-"

"But you're fucking up my quotas, that's what!" A newcomer stepped through the gate. At first glance, the girl might have been an "upgraded" Kyōko- tall and sculpted, with shaggy red hair and an impressive bustline. The sarcastic smirk on the girl's face was also very Kyōko, and the scythe draped over her shoulders was similar to the Puella Magi's favored spear.

But the newcomer's eyes were dead, and that made all the difference. The eyes and the weapon meant the girl could only be one thing. _Shinigami._

"Yo, Reimu, what the fuck? I don't have time for this, I've got a quota to fill this month, and bring the dead _back_ doesn't really get the job done, y'know?"

"I didn't do it, Komachi." replied Reimu from behind a cup of tea. "Talk to them. (also, it's a bit rich to hear _you_ of all people talk about meeting a tight deadline)." replied the shrine maiden, earning a rude gesture from the shinigami. Komachi leveled her glare upon Kyōko as the Puella Magi walked right up to her.

"What the hell are you?" snarled the shinigami as she looked Kyōko over.

"I'm the one who's gonna thump your ass if you don't bring Sayaka Miki back here in five minutes or less, Melons!" At the insult, Komachi crossed her arms over her chest and glared.

"Hey, look, normally I wouldn't give a shit, but since I'm already having a bad day and you've already managed to piss me off, looks like you're gettin' a trip across the Sanzu . . . for free!"

_All you have to do is ask, huh? . . . never thought I'd want to play by the rules, but I'll do anything I have to in order to get her back._ Kyōko closed her eyes and begged the heavens for whatever power they might choose to give her. Then Kyōko's scorpion spear crackled into existence and she took up a fighting stance. "Bring it!"

BGM: Syrufit - Love=ALL - Listen Up!

Kyōko Sakura could not be said to be at the peak of fitness; she was tired, hungry, sore from where her various victims had hit her back over the course of the day, and her Soul Gem was tarred from overwork and despair. So it was Komachi who scored the first hit of the duel, butting Kyōko back with her scythe and then cracking the Puella Magi on the arm with the handle. This numbed Kyōko's arm enough that she couldn't block and had to surrender ground lest the shinigami's scythe tear her in half.

"Gonna have to step it up there, or you won't even make it across the River in one piece!" Another swooping scythe attack was blocked by Kyōko grounding her spear and parrying with the haft, but that left her no chance for offense. Komachi mixed a barrage of danmaku into her next assault, and Kyōko got pelted. The Puella Magi stumbled back, smoking bullet-burns all across her arms and legs.

_Let me break this moment,_

"What the hell are you fighting for, huh?" Kyōko asked in lieu of an attack.

_Let me water your fire!_

"Is it ideology? A sense of duty? Hah!" The Puella Magi spat on the ground, ignoring the fact there was blood mixed in with the saliva.

_My tears splashed down,_

"Lemme tell you what I'm fighting for."

_Everything faded away, you know . . ._

"I need Sayaka Miki more than I need air to breath, food to eat. More than life itself. And that's why I'm gonna win!"

___give me, hold me, take me, touch me, love me,_ forgive me and forget?

"_Fugue Sign ~ Rosso Fantasma!_" Kyōko exploded into 13 seperate entities and they all pounced upon the shinigami at once, slashing and thrusting and punching and kicking. Each one was but a fragment of the real Puella Magi, but the sheer quantity of the attack wore down Komachi's guard, and then suddenly Kyōko was a single entity again, and her scorpion spear was wrapped around the shinigami's scythe and the spearhead buried itself in the flagstones, immobilizing Komachi's weapon. Before the shinigami could contemplate releasing her scythe to break free of the grapple, the tail end of the chain-spear reached up and wrapped around Komachi's throat and hurled her into the ground.

But Komachi was not done yet. "_Death Song ~ Ferriage in the Deep Fog!_" called the Shinigami, unleashing her own Spellcard, and Kyōko's next charge was answered by a boat coming in at head-height. The Puella Magi was forced to drop to her knees or lose her head, and when Kyōko slid out from beneath the boat, Komachi was right there, slicing down with her scythe.

Kyōko launched her scorpion spear, entangling Komachi's feet and trading away her weapon to save herself from being disemboweled. The shinigami popped to her feet and flung Kyōko's spear down the shrine stairs. "Now what'cha gonna do?" taunted Komachi.

"Oh, how about . . . _FURY SIGN ~ BLOODY HEARTBREAKER!_" roared Kyōko as she expended her other Spellcard. A thundering wave of hot blood splashed across the courtyard, threatening to drown Komachi, but the shinigami stood her ground and whirled her scythe to ward off the worst of the conjured wave.

Riding the backside of the wave was Kyōko, and she renewed her assault with two different weapons: a matched set of long double-edged swords made of red crystal, shot through with fractures of blue but still sharp. The magic of the Spellcard gave Kyōko unerring aim, and she buried her leading sword clear to the hilt in Komachi's chest, right through her heart.

As a Spellcard construct, the attack was not lethal, but in its' own way it was far more damaging; according to the rules of the duel, Komachi was now honor-bound to carry out Kyōko's request.

"Aw bugger!" was Komachi's response.

_give me, hold me, take me, touch me._

"Yeah, I think I like this, where winning means they gotta do what you want. We need to implement this on our . . . side-" Kyōko's eyes rolled up into her head and she hit the pavement like a sack of moldy rice. Komachi peered down at the fallen Puella Magi, and toed her with a sandal, getting a groan in response.

"Is she gonna be okay?"

"I hope so," replied Homura as she cradled Kyōko's head. One glance at Kyōko's Soul Gem told the story. "Tell me somebody grabbed those Grief Seeds yesterday?"

"Here," said Mami, handing over one of the blackened iron balls. Homura pressed the seed to Kyōko's Soul Gem and watched as the corruption was drawn out. The Grief Seed smoked a bit as it was filled to capacity, and Kyōko's eyes fluttered open. Homura let out a breath she hadn't been conscious of holding, and then dropped the Grief Seed to the pavement and ground it to scrap beneath her heel.

"Aw, damn. I was hoping I could do an exchange instead of a return."

* * *

"For a boat called the _Titanic_, this is not very, y'know, titanic," remarked Kyōko once she and Nova and Homura and Madoka were aboard the shinigami's ferry.

"Yeah, well, souls are usually easier to fit. Also, if I could actually _make a quota_ for once without anybody fucking with me I could buy a new one!"

"Sorry, Komachi-san, but we really needed our friend back." Madoka bowed as best she could while sitting in a second-rate ferryboat.

"Eh, whatever, I'm over it. If not this, Yamada-san would have found something else to bitch about. While we're all being annoying, can I ask a question? Why do you guys all look dead already?"

"Whaaa?"

"I can see the span of a mortal's life," replied Komachi, tapping the corner of her eye. "And all of you are blanks. Like, already dead, but you're obviously not."

"It is a side-effect of how we got our powers," replied Homura. "When we made the contract, our souls are pulled out of our bodies and stored in a gemstone, which is also the focus of our powers."

"Ouch, harsh. Why the hell would you do that?"

"Well, _someone-_" Kyōko pulled on Nova's ear for emphasis. "Didn't exactly mention that little fact when we made the contract."

"Hey! Oww! C'mon, I already said I was sorry!"

"Okay, it's not that I'm mad about it anymore Fluffy, but I'm not letting you off the hook just yet either."

"Hauuu . . . "

"I'm just glad everyone is in good spirits again, and we're getting Sayaka-chan back!" Madoka had a big smile on her face as she looked across the River Sanzu.

"Yes, now everything will be back to normal," said Homura, but the crimson flush on her face and her refusal to meet the eyes of her fellow Puella Magi said otherwise.

_What if we don't want _normal_?_ Homura glared at Kyōko when she heard the redhead's thoughts. _If you go by how we started, 'normal' would be me being an asocial murderous loser. Normal would be Nova turning back into a creepy lying fluffball-_

"Gee, thanks," replied Nova, and Kyōko turned a sharp-toothed grin against _both_ of the glares directed at her.

_Normal would be you going back to being cold and scary, Homura-chan. I don't want to see you hurt like that anymore, even if . . . even if it means I can't have you._

_Madoka . . . How come you can never put yourself first? Why aren't you angry with me for what I have done?_

_Because, you are all my precious friends. I only want what will make you happy. For me, that is enough._

"Alright, no crying back there! This damn boat is leaky enough as it is!" Komachi buried her scythe in the riverbank in a flash of steel and pulled the _Titanic_ onto land.

"Is this the place? Sure doesn't look like the Hell I grew up with!" Kyōko marveled at the vista before her- nestled between mountains which appeared to be the very pillars of the earth was a palace, dressed all in white marble. A pathway of white and black crushed stones wound through a vast field of higanbana flowers up to the front door.

"What were you expecting? Lava and brimstone?"

"Well, yeah, actually."

"Heh." Komachi shoulder her scythe and started down the stone path. "While you might _deserve_ a lake of fire for all eternity, sucks for those of us who have to work here."

Inside, the palace looked much like any other shrine to bureaucracy- there were clerks and shinigami bustling to and fro between the elegant marble columns, and dead souls were queued up in orderly lines denoted by velvet ropes. "Yo! Komachi! Didja actually get a full boat, or are you giving tours now?" The speaker was another shinigami, a young man with brown hair in a long braid. He was dressed rather irreverently in the black dress outfit and white collar of a Catholic priest, and leaning on his scythe, which was a mechanical monstrosity with a blade of flame, as compared to Komachi's rather more traditional model.

"Ahh, shaddup! You want your nose broken again?!" Komachi held up a fist for illustration, and the other shinigami backed away around a pillar, still grinning.

"Well that certainly puts the fear of death into _me_," quipped Homura.

"Keep laughing, funny girl, and I'll make you swim home."

Komachi led the Puella Magi into what appeared to be a waiting room of some form. Sayaka was sitting on a bench, still dressed in her combat garb, and standing next to her was a small woman dressed in a very formal blue uniform, holding a heavy golden baton in one hand. The woman's eyes blazed with anger as she beheld the shinigami.

"Hey, what are you guys doing here?! Come to rescue me?" Sayaka grinned at her teammates when she saw them.

"Huh? What're you talking about, we're on vacation- Wait, this isn't Okinawa!" Kyōko held the look of puzzlement just long enough to get Sayaka's blood up and then the redhead dropped the act, racing over to wrap up Sayaka in a big hug. "Oh God I'm so sorry I'll never let anything bad happen to you ever again I promise-"

"Shh," replied Sayaka, squeezing Kyōko back.

"Komachi! What is the meaning of this?" Eiki Shiki, the Yamaxanadu, pointed her Rod of Judgment up at the shame-faced shinigami.

"Sorry boss. They beat me fair and square, and you know how the Hakurei's stupid rules work-"

"Why did you let that happen?!"

"Uh, it's not like I tried to let them win . . ."

"She's telling the truth," added Kyōko. "Bitch packs a wallop!"

"And I suppose you think you're just going to walk out of here with this sinner in tow?" Eiki pointed the Rod of Judgment at Sayaka for emphasis.

"Yep, you got it! C'mon, Deputy Constable, let's get the hell outta, er, hell!"

"Wh-a-a-a-t?!" Eiki turned on Sayaka. "You would claim to be an officer of the Law, and yet you're willing to sanction this travesty?"

"No." Sayaka stood up, which permitted her to glare down at the rather short Yama. "I serve Justice, which is an entirely different creature."

"How can you say that? They are one in the same-"

"Ha! That's the most absurd thing I have ever heard!" Nova stepped to the fore, and the other Puella Magi recoiled in surprise. None of them had seen the white-haired girl _angry_ before. "I am stranded here, a refugee from my own kind, because I chose to follow my conscience. My former rulers claim that my actions are a violation of their laws, laws which they themselves do not feel compelled to follow, and that I am deserving of death for doing so. _And_ all of that is so they can protect a cruel scheme which had continued for so long that they themselves no longer understand the reason for its' existence. Sayaka was murdered by the Purifiers so that they would not have to come to terms with their own failings. Where is your Justice in that? Tell me!" Nova stared down the Yama for another moment, before unclenching her fists and blowing out a breath. "Excuse me, that was out of place." Nova bowed and stepped back, but the fire had not left her eyes.

"I . . . understand your concerns. Please wait outside; I must confer with my subordinate for a minute." Eiki and Komachi remained politely neutral until the Puella Magi had filed out. As soon as the door was shut, Komachi bowed her head. "You will need to step up your efforts, Onozuka-san."

"Sorry, boss, I didn't mean to screw this up."

"No, it is not simply that. Those girls, all of them have far too much yin and not enough yang. The purpose of Hell is not to punish sinners, but to ensure that there are no sinners. However, if those girls do not learn to live in balance and come to terms with the fractures within their souls, retrieving their friend from us will only hurt them further, and they will never wash clean of their sins.

"Furthermore, if the white-haired one is honest, then what she sees coming will be a calamity the likes of which we have not had in many years. Only a careful approach by a harmonious, self-aware soul stands a good chance of bringing this Incident to a happy ending."

"Uh, boss? I hate to point this out, but I saw them working with Reimu Hakurei and Marisa Kirisame."

"I figured as much, which is why I need you to redouble your efforts, Komachi. With the likes of those two in the mix, when the battle begins for real, the Sanzu will be choked to overflowing with the souls of the damned."

* * *

Outside, the Puella Magi were engaged in some catch-up. "So, what'd I miss?" asked Sayaka, as soon as Kyōko let go of her long enough to get a question out.

"Let's see, I might have kinda beat up a bunch of Gensokyo people, and then Homerun pissed off a few more when she came to find me so she could tell me she's got a crush on me, and oh yeah, she figured out how to make Spellcards like the Gensokyans use, and oh yeah, Mami and Nova hooked up for some reason. And they don't sell Pocky anywhere in Gensokyo, which sucks!"

Sayaka looked at each of her friends in turn, boggling more and more as Kyōko spilled out each new revelation. "Damn, I can't leave you fools unsupervised for even a minute!"

* * *

"Ugh, damn them! Just as soon as Eye'm healed, Eye'll show all of 'em!" At the moment, Cirno was in no condition to carry out any of her threats, as she was holed up in a cave on the banks of the Misty Lake. In truth, the ice fairy was so badly damaged from Kyōko's assault she would have been better off letting a Youkai finish the job and resurrect, but strategic thinking was never Cirno's strong suit. And so instead she was hiding in her cave, healing as quickly as she could in the summer and ranting to an audience that consisted only of half a dozen frogsickles . . . and one other.

_You have suffered greatly at the hands of these newcomers, the Puella Magi._

"Yeah I have! Wait? Who said that? Show yourself, or Eye'll blast ya!" In response a small white-furred creature stepped out from behind a rock.

_Do you know why the Puella Magi are so powerful? They made wishes, which were fulfilled by my kind. Because of the wishes, they went from being ordinary girls to Puella Magi, with all of the powers and duties that entails._

"Y-you! Eye oughta kill you right here for that!" The cave got suddenly and noticeably cooler as Cirno gathered her remaining power.

_You do not want to hear what I can offer you? Very well. I thought I had found someone who could be a useful ally._ The creature stood and turned to leave, his fat white tail dragging low.

"Wait! What'd'ya mean, ally?"

_It is the duty of a Puella Magi to hunt Witches. Instead, those girls are here in this world. And, they have rebuffed our efforts to re-purpose them appropriately. And so I was sent here to contract additional Puella Magi. _

"And what do Eye get from that?"

_In exchange for being made into a Puella Magi and accepting the duty to fight Witches, I will grant any one wish you may have. You will gain a Soul Gem and be able to draw upon its' magic, just as any Puella Magi can._ The creature sat down and locked his unblinking gaze upon Cirno.

_Would you like to make a contract?_

* * *

A/N: So the Puella Magi now have Spellcards. It was bound to happen sooner or later, leaving such power-hungry creatures in the Land of Illusion. For curiosity's sake, here are Homura's, Kyōko's, and Nova's signature cards; each girl has an A-type, a B-type, and a Last Word so far.

Homura Akemi:  
A-Type: Nightmare ~ Treadmill of Fate (E/N) / Nightmare ~ 1,001 Failures (H/L) _a rain of bullets that never ends. Just like Homura's journey._  
B-Type: Sorrow Sign ~ Walpurgis Eve_ from the grinding of the gears comes deadly sparks. Keep moving!_  
L Word: Sorrow Sign ~ Shiganbana Bloom _beware of when the Witch's Lilies bloom._

Kyōko Sakura:  
A-Type: Fugue Sign ~ Rosso Fantasma _very flashy, but easy if you know what you're looking for.  
_B-Type: Fugue Sign ~ 40 Days' Fast _if you know how she thinks, you'll be safe, even as the hungry bullets eat away any place to stand.  
_L Word: Fury Sign ~ Bloody Heartbreaker _the wave is just for show. Kyōko really wants to break your heart._

__Nova Floresca:  
A-Type: Imaginary Number ~ Witching Hour _really, doing the math is worse than this danmaku pattern.  
_B-Type: Negation Sign ~ Calculation of Entropy _you call it that, but isn't is really just one of Utsuho's patterns that Satori auctioned off?  
_L Word: Taboo "Lävatein" _The __Lävatein is the wand which ignites the Ragnarok, so I guess we'll let it slide this time._


	6. Complete Clarification

**Episode 6 : Complete Clarification**

_Well, there's your answer, Reimu; no one mortal can stand the constant presence of Marisa Kirisame, so you can bloody well have her for a while!_ Alice Margatroid was walking back to her house in the Forest of Magic, after Marisa's antics had gone from "charming" to "annoying" and then on to "infuriating". The puppeteer shook her head ruefully. _Just because I love her, doesn't mean I have to like her!_

Alice almost got her warning too late, as she put her hand on a doorknob which was colder than it should have been for late morning in the Forest of Magic. The puppeteer's eyes narrowed, and she readied a spell. Kicking open the door yielded a furious blast of icy spears, so sudden and powerful they blasted clear through the flesh they found and knocked the body down flat.

The author of the destruction stepped forward with a evil grin on her face. Seven razored wings of ice glittered in what sunlight reached through the Forest, and a light breeze ruffled an elaborate dress of white silk with jagged blue trimming and sprays of lace at the hem, sleeves, and throat, while a fat ovoid gemstone the color of pure crystalline ice nestled between the wearer's breasts. A few specks of utter darkness were trapped in the gem, but its' owner did not seem to notice.

"Ha! Eye got'cha good this time!" Cirno stood over the motionless figure, gloating at the success of her surprise attack. "Hey, what's this?" a slip of paper was tucked into the sash around the victim's waist, which Cirno snatched up and unfolded.

_Magic Sign ~ Artful Sacrifice_

Alice was airborne as soon as she heard the _crump_ of her doppelganger's explosive demise. _The others need to be warned. I should have expected this much from the likes of our current enemy._

* * *

"You gotta be fucking kidding me!" Kyōko Sakura sat on "her" bed, the one she shared with Sayaka in the blunette's house, with arms crossed and glowering as best she could with a mouthful of crisps in the way. Arrangements had been made, thanks to Sayaka's father the police captain, for the girls to stay off school for the rest of the week. Daichi Miki had mentioned that the girls should use the time to sort out the problems caused by their time in Gensokyo, which then led to the current argument.

"I want it _back._ Why is this so hard to understand?"

"And I'm saying you should take advantage of the opportunity, why is _that_ so hard to understand!" The trip back across the Sanzu River had yielded a curious twist of fate for Sayaka Miki; she had been returned to the land of the living hale and whole, but her shattered Soul Gem was gone, along with the powers which it had contained.

"What opportunity is that? The chance to sit here helpless while all my friends go off to fight? I thought you loved me!"

"I do! That's why I don't want you contracting again!"

"Whatever. If you wanted someone who would bend over and obey your every command, you should've taken Homura when you had the chance." As if summoned by Sayaka's rant, a chime sounded, indicating visitors at the front door. Sayaka rolled her eyes and stomped down to the front door.

"Hi, Sayaka-chan. Did we come at a bad time?" asked Madoka. Sayaka noted to her disgust that both the pink-haired girl and Homura were glancing upward with trepidation. _They can sense her mood. _They_ can sense her, and I can't! Where's the fairness in that?_

"Ahh, whatever, come in. You're gonna get dragged into the fight anyway sooner or later. Come in." After a moment of watching her three friends all stand around and look vaguely embarrassed, however, Sayaka threw up her hands.

"Y'know what? I've got a better idea." Suddenly the blunette put a hand on Homura's shoulder and a foot in front of the black-haired girl so that she tripped and slammed heavily into Kyōko, knocking both of them down. "You two get yourselves sorted. I need to talk to Madoka for a bit." That said, Sayaka took Madoka by the hand and started dragging her towards the door. "Oh yeah, one more thing; get my bed wet and I'll kill the both of ya!"

Sayaka made it maybe ten steps out the front door before she started ranting again. "Damnit! I want my powers back! Why does she get to dictate what I can and can't do!"

"I'm sure Kyōko-chan is just concerned for your safety."

"Bah! More like she's thinking 'now I can ditch the newbie, and not have to work as hard anymore' or something." Madoka suddenly darted in front of Sayaka, causing the blunette to grind to a halt.

"Okay, no more nice Madoka," said the pink-haired girl, before flicking Sayaka's nose hard enough to get a yelp of pain. "First of all!" Madoka held up a finger for emphasis. "You've been our front-line fighter for months now. If anyone deserves a wakaba-mark on their Soul Gem, it would be Nova or Charlotte!" A smirk crossed Sayaka's face as she imagined one of the gaudy green-and-yellow 'novice' stickers plastered on Nova's Soul Gem. "Second, speaking of her, do we even know if Nova _can_ make more contracts? You should probably find out before getting in a fight with Kyōko-chan over nothing."

"Yeah. I just can't stand it! I didn't start noticing until last night, but we've been linked so long, it's disturbing. I used to be able to _feel_ her all the time, and now I can't. And with the whole Homura thing, now I keep wondering if she's lying to me when we talked about it. I never used to need to even think about stuff like that, I could just read her feelings and _know_ if she was trying to pull a fast one on me. I hate it!"

"Sayaka-chan . . ."

"You don't know what it's like. I saw you, you and Homura when you showed up today. You turned and looked right at our room upstairs! You don't even realize it anymore, you've been linked for so long! Damnit!"

Madoka seized Sayaka's hand suddenly. The blunette reflexively tried to jerk free of the grip, but nearly lost her arm in the process, so strong was Madoka's grip. Sayaka felt something warm and hard in the palm of her hand, then Madoka folded the blunette's fingers around the gift. _Can you hear me now, Sayaka-chan?_ came Madoka's "voice" in her mind, transmitted by the pink-haired girl's Soul Gem, clenched tight in Sayaka's hand.

Tears leaked from Sayaka's eyes as she reached out through Madoka's Soul Gem. The blunette had spent a mere half-day without the empathic link, but she had felt crippled by the absence. Madoka was there in all her radiant glory, and nearby Sayaka felt the spicy crackle of Kyōko and Homura, then there was Mami's comforting warmth overlaying Nova's cool depths and Charlotte's sweet playfulness, while further out laid Hitomi's placid determination. ". . . thank you."

* * *

"So, uh, hi." Kyōko was laying on the living room floor in Sayaka's house, with Homura pressed close on top of her. Homura rolled her eyes and slid off the redhead, dropping into something like a sloppy seiza position.

"That's it? Just 'hi'. Who are you, and what have you done with the real Kyōko Sakura?" Now it was Kyōko's turn to roll her eyes.

"Just what were you expecting?" asked the redhead as she fished out a stick of Pocky. "Something . . . _naughtier_ perhaps? Like this, maybe?" Kyōko traced the biscuit stick along Homura's throat, then brushed it along the black-haired girl's lips. Homura's eyes had gone wide as saucers and she was panting heavily by the time Kyōko withdrew the snack and chomped down on it, her red eyes flashing with amusement.

". . . y-yeah, something like that," was all Homura could say.

"Mmm, thought that's what you wanted," replied Kyōko. "Gives me a crazy idea."

"W-what's that?"

"Tell you later." Kyōko flopped onto her back. "Hey, you've got like a thousand years experience with this, how do you deal when your girl is dead-set on doing something stupid and dangerous?"

Homura just favored Kyōko with a sour look until the redhead sat back up and asked "What?", at which point Homura swatted her over the head.

"Ow! Hey, what was that for?"

"I _didn't _deal with it, you dunderhead! That's why I'm in the mess I am now, with you and Madoka and . . ."

"Jeez, sorry. Please don't cry. You just always seemed so cool and collected and . . . Oh."

"Yeah." Homura wiped away what certainly couldn't be tears from her eyes. "I had everybody fooled. Even myself. I got everything I was after, but now, I don't know if it's what I really wanted. Gods help me, I actually started wishing I was back in the cycles. There at least I knew what I was doing." The black-haired Puella Magi lapsed into definite tears. Kyōko sat there, watching Homura cry, chewing her lip. _Do I, or don't I? She needs help, but will it be worth the cost?_

"Hey Homura, you remember I said I have a crazy idea?"

". . . yeah?" replied Homura, around a sniffle. Kyōko seized hold of Homura then, putting a hand on the back of her neck and pulling the black-haired girl into a searing hot kiss. The redhead sought out Homura's left hand with her own, intertwined them, and when their seals met, the girls fell into a soul-deep communion. _I see now, who you really are._ Within the half-merged state, Kyōko found the fragments of Homura's self, the pieces which couldn't be rendered into mere words. _Homura Akemi, I know you._ On one level, Kyōko relished the purely physical nature of their contact, the interplay of tongues and warm lips. But that was just a lightshow; what was important were the things illuminated by Homura's unguarded emotions, things that the black-haired girl couldn't even see inside herself.

A slice of eternity passed, and then the girls broke their kiss. Homura's eyes then went wide with shock, and Kyōko's heart plummeted as she traced the line of Homura's gaze. "Uh, Homura-chan, we need to go," said Madoka from the doorway. Kyōko whipped around to see an embarrassed and sheepish Madoka holding Shanghai . . . and an absolutely furious Sayaka.

"Yes, go. You've got some kind of special club meeting to get to, I dunno what because obviously those of us who can't do anything aren't _invited._ Whatever. Just get the hell out of here." Sayaka wasn't yelling, just speaking in a hoarse monotone which made it all the worse. Homura jumped up and fairly ran out of the room, refusing to make eye contact with any of the other girls.

"And you, faithless traitor. I'm going out, to cool my head for a bit. Don't be here when I get back, got it?" Sayaka turned to leave once more, when a hard object hit her in the back. "OW! What the hell-" the blunette whipped around, fists balled, only to find that what had hit her was Kyōko's Soul Gem.

"Take it. I'm sorry. I was just trying to help her, and I fucked up. Do with it what you will." Kyōko bowed her head, hands clasped together in a prayerful manner. "If I have to lose you again, I don't want to know about it." Sayaka snatched up the Soul Gem and stormed out.

_This is just another one of her stupid over-the-top gestures. She knows I wouldn't do anything to damage her Soul Gem, even though I really should, so she thinks I'll be impressed by her guts and take her back._ Sayaka glared at the blood-red gem as though she could draw the truth out of the stone like juice from a strawberry. The blunette's first instinct was to head away from the house as quickly as possible, let Kyōko feel the horror of being severed from her body. Claustrophobic panic clutched Sayaka's heart for just a moment as she contemplated doing that, the terror of severance coming back to haunt her.

_Limp, empty ragdoll in my hands. No! Not like this! I'll beat her fair and square, just bring her back-_

The waking vision threw Sayaka off her balance. For a moment, she had seen herself in another's hands, a blank-eyed corpse devoid of everything which made her Human. _Kyōko saw that, when Madoka threw away my Soul Gem!_ Sayaka looked down at the gem in her hand. Somehow, the thought had sparked a connection with Kyōko's Soul Gem, letting Sayaka access the redhead's memories. The blunette squeezed the gem tight in her hand and kept walking. _Quit fucking with me! I'm trying to think here._

* * *

When they arrived at the Hakurei Shrine, Homura, Madoka, and Mami were greeted by a scene of utter chaos. In addition to Reimu, Alice, Marisa, Sakuya, Sanae, Aya, and Youmu, whom they knew from previous encounters, there was a short girl who could only be the mischievous oni Suika, for who else could drink enough sake to reek of alcohol by noon and still be standing? Lurking under the eaves of the Shrine proper was Shou Toramaru, unless there were _two_ spear-wielding Tiger Youkai on the loose.

Another figure drifted over to the Puella Magi and began inspecting the Outside girls intently. The figure herself had flowing green hair beneath a pointy blue hat, matched by a blue cape over a white dress, beneath which . . . the figure was supported by a ghostly tail. "Okay, Mima, leave the nice girls alone, you've already had lunch!" Reimu's tone was deceptively friendly, although the way the shrine maiden clenched the Yin-Yang Orb, violence seemed imminent.

"I was merely curious about the girls who raised, and I do literally mean raised, so much Hell recently." Mima turned an admonishing finger upon the Puella Magi, although the grin on the evil spirit's face put the lie to her tone when she said, "Eiki-chan is rather annoyed with you lot. You wouldn't want to lose your heads right now, you won't get them back I suspect."

Mocking laughter was not what Mima had expected for her comment, but the Puella Magi couldn't help but crack up. "My apologies, Mima-san, but that's something of an in-joke for us. Suffice to say, I have 'been there, done that' and even got the t-shirt for my troubles." replied Mami to Mima's cocked eyebrow of disbelief.

"Alright that's enough you whingeful spirit, pack it in." Reimu stood within the arch of the shrine gate and raised her voice to get the attention of all her dangerous guests. "Now that we have everyone here, it is time to explain the situation, and then we can start formulating a response. Alice, if you would please?" Alice nodded and stepped into the middle of the ring.

"Approximately two hours after sunup this morning, I was attacked from ambush by Cirno-"

"Bwah?! Seriously?" Sanae burst out laughing. "So then is this like your retirement party or something-" The Moriya shrine maiden suddenly buckled and clenched her stomach, eyes watering. Sakuya appeared from nowhere next to Sanae. "Stomach troubles, Kochiya-san? Perhaps you should go lie down." asked the Scarlet maid with faux politeness.

"Screw . . . you . . . too . . . bitch." Sanae coughed out, having taken a knee as she tried to catch a breath after being kicked straight in the gut. _Sparring with Meiling appears to have been useful,_ mused Sakuya as she observed the damage.

"If I may continue? Ordinarially I would share Kochiya's dismissive attitude towards Cirno, but the fact of the matter is, she attacked without properly declaring a duel, and her first barrage was powerful enough to outright kill the clone doll which I deployed." This raised some eyebrows- Alice's Artful Sacrifice spell transformed one of her doll minions into a physical copy of herself, with all the toughness implied by Alice's status as a well-practiced Youkai magician. "And, as I was retreating, I noticed she possessed a Soul Gem."

This revelation set the courtyard into an uproar which Reimu tolerated for all of ten seconds. Then she dropped the Yin-Yang Orb onto the paving stones. When it landed, the Orb hit with a noise like a mountain being smashed flat with an iron club. "Alright, shut it! Could we have a volunteer from the Outside contingent explain to us what this means?" Mami Tomoe nodded and stepped forward. _Do I dare tell these people our secrets and our flaws? Do I dare _not_?_ Mami made her decision and began to speak.

"We are Puella Magi, keepers of a source of great and terrible power. This is a Soul Gem," Mami activated her transformation and held her gem out for the assembled Gensokyans to look at for a minute before returning it to its' customary spot on her beret. "The name is literal- my essence resides within the Soul Gem, and if it were to be destroyed, I would cease to exist. However, almost nothing short of the destruction of the Soul Gem can kill me- my friend Kyōko walked away from being trapped in a building which burnt to the ground without so much as a scar to show for it.

"So? All Youkai and fairies can already resurrect. I fail to see the problem?" said Sanae, giving Mami a dirty look.

"While this is true, you non-Puella Magi are still tied to a physical form. You can still be disabled by injury, or even substantial pain, such as from a kick to the gut," Mami kept a pleasant smile on her face as she delivered the barb. "If Cirno's indifference to common sense is as great as I've been told, you could tear her limb from limb and she wouldn't even feel it, now that she has made the contract. But it is unlikely that things will progress to that stage, because there is another problem associated with our powers. Every time a Puella Magi uses her powers, she accumulates a taint. When the taint has progressed far enough, she ceases to be a Puella Magi and becomes a Witch, a physical embodiment of hatred and despair. The mere presence of a Witch in an area is enough to drive people to suicide or murder by the handfuls, and the Witch can actively infect victims with a 'Witch's Kiss', which is enough to kill even a strong-willed individual." Mami looked at the crowd of Gensokyans, locking eyes with each grave face in turn.

"However, Cirno herself is the least of our worries. For her to have become a Puella Magi means she was contracted by an Incubator. The Incubators are extremely cunning and evil, and they seek out people in unfortunate circumstances and lure them in by offering to grant wishes in exchange for a contract."

"What do you mean by wishes, Tomoe-san?" asked Sakuya, with a skeptical look upon her face.

"Anything your heart desires. The size of which that an Incubator can grant is limited only by the imagination of the girl doing the asking and her potential."

"So someone could wish to become, say, a god?" asked Sanae, with disbelief written all over her face.

"If they were thinking small, sure." replied Mami with a grim expression on her face.

* * *

_If this is just a play for sympathy on her part, may the gods damn me if it isn't working,_ mused Sayaka as she held Kyōko's very life in her hand. _But what do I do? I can't just forgive her for carrying on with Homura like that-_

_-even though you threw her on Homura and all but told them to get it on?_

Sayaka flinched. She hadn't been expecting her subconscious to talk back to her, and for a moment she glared at the Soul Gem in her hand. The glowing red gem hadn't been the source of the contrary opinion however, and Sayaka knew it.

_So then, what do I do? Aren't I just being a pushover? Hitomi steals my boyfriend, and I just shrug it off, and now Homura, er, borrows my girlfriend and returns her dirty, and I just shrug it off again?_

_-You could always turn the tables. Who was it again who said "Madoka is my bride"?_

_But, that's just condoning bad behavior, and-_

"Hey, watch it!" Sayaka danced back out of the way of a cargo van which nearly clipped her on the sidewalk. The van slammed into the wall just meters away from where the blunette had been standing, causing Sayaka to stare dumbfounded. When the driver popped the door and got out, however, Sayaka realized it probably hadn't been an accident- the man was plenty tall and broad-shouldered to be a Yakuza legbreaker, and he was missing enough joints of his fingers to be an expendable one at that.

A malicious grin overtook the goon's face, and he began to tear open his shirt to reveal the cancerous iron webbing of a Sorrow Graft. "Oh, shit . . . " Sayaka turned and ran, clutching Kyōko's Soul Gem in both hands and praying devoutly for a miracle. _Guys, I'm in trouble here. HELP!_

* * *

Watching all three Puella Magi flinch in unison and snap to look at the Border would have been funny indeed if Reimu didn't know it meant trouble, bad trouble. The shrine maiden was already working flight enchantments into the ofuda in her hand. "Marisa, Sanae, Shou, go with them."

"Wait, what? Why me?" Sanae glared at Reimu, fists on hips.

"Because, we discovered that the only reliable way to kill one of the Purifiers, the enemy's big guns, is to place demon-binding seals upon them first. Otherwise, the spirit just drifts away and corrupts any nearby mortals and turns them into weapons." Reimu locked gazes with her fellow shrine maiden. "Please. You're the only one who can do this." Sanae held Reimu's eye, but only for a moment, then she broke away.

"Alright, fine. I guess it's up to me to show you what a _proper_ shrine maiden can do." The Puella Magi all curtseyed to Sanae, but Marisa just smirked, and the party shot through the Border just as soon as Reimu had the portal open.

In flight, the Puella Magi took the lead, sensing for the unique emanations of the Purifiers and their minions. Something wasn't right, there seemed to be a piece missing for Sanae. Disquiet growing in her mind, the shrine maiden accelerated to come alongside Madoka so she could speak without having to shout her lungs out.

"Hey, what did you all mean by 'unfortunate circumstances', exactly?"

"People who feel crushed and put down by their lot in life, whose desires are unfulfilled. It helps if they are simple or innocent enough to be easily swayed."

"Oh shit. _Oh shit_!" Sanae's eyes went wide. "That's not good. We need to get this done, like, yesterday and get back!"

"What's wrong? Who are you worried about?" asked a worried Madoka.

"Oh not much, just a total and complete meltdown," replied Sanae, with bitter sarcasm.

* * *

**Hydrostatic equilibrium check: Testing . . . complete: Success.**

**Temperature indication: 11,000,000K . . . within acceptable parameter.**

**Axial barriers: 1, okay. 4, okay. 2, okay. 5, okay. 3, okay. 6, okay. **

And so the mantra went, endlessly pouring from the lips of the only being for whom this most hostile of all environments was home. Maintaining the function of the Reactor buried within the Former Hell was a tedious, mind-numbing job. Fortunately, Utsuho Reiuji didn't have much of a mind to numb. Mistress Satori said she was pleased the hell-raven's work, and so Utsuho herself was pleased, so she thought.

_Are you what could be called a 'pitiable creature'?_

"Unyu? Who said that?"

_It is I._ An Incubator stood at the edge of the reactor core, far enough from cage of nuclear flame to keep from being disintegrated. _I am here to make you an offer. What is it you wish for?_

"Huh? What do you mean, wish?" Utsuho's reply was long in coming, her speech labored from the effort of keeping the reactor in check.

_You toil in this place every day, and for what benefit?_

"Mistress Satori says the reactor makes the people of the Mountain happy, so I'm glad to do my job."

_And does your Mistress compensate you for your work?_

"I don't know what you mean, 'compensate'. Satori is a good person, though."

_Does your Satori ever permit you to go outside? Are you free to do as you please?_

"Stop right there, you omen of bad intent!" The new voice was soft-spoken but stern and both the hell raven and the Incubator turned to see who had intruded on their conversation. Satori Komeji cut a rather unimposing figure, for the ruler of a major territory of Gensokyo; she stood at a barely-average height, and her common jacket, skirt, and slippers were nothing like the impressive finery seen on Youkai Mountain, or in Eientei, or even when compared to the shrine maidens' working uniforms. However, no one could comfortably match Satori's flat, unflappable gaze, and the third eye which stood out over her heart could unnerve even the strongest of souls when it glared directly at them, which it always seemed to do, even in a room where there were several other people present.

"I am Satori Komeji. This you already knew, yet you planned to ask me my name anyway, to be coy. Your coy manners are ineffective upon me, and I am immune to your glamour of cuteness. You shall act offended, as though I have misunderstood your intent, while at the same time attempting to hook your barbs further into my pet." Satori turned and caught Utsuho's eye. "You are unsettled by this creature, Reiuji-chan. You are unsure if you would believe the honesty of any reassurance I would give to you right now, so I shall not do so.

"You would cast yourself as a neutral agent, Incubator, when you are nothing of the sort." All three of Satori's eyes went wide when she focused upon the small white emissary. "I can see all the way in to you! Impossible . . . such depths . . . " Satori dropped to her knees as the sheer mass of the mind behind the Incubator's simple exterior staggered her, and tears sprang unbidden to her eyes as she struggled to come to terms with the motive which lurked within the tiny frame. Utsuho cried out in alarm, but she was unable to do anything while the reactor still blazed.

The Incubator's immutably placid expression was suddenly and violently dispelled by the tire of a wheelbarrow. Rin dropped the handles of her cart and bolted around to punt the Incubator's corpse straight up . . . into the nuclear inferno. "Damn thing!" growled the kasha. "Satori-sama, are you okay?"

"I think I am, for now. Thank you." Satori stood up and closed her eyes for a moment, focusing. "Utsuho, begin shutdown procedure. Rin, I want you to take Utsuho and go to the Hakurei Shrine. If the shrine maiden doesn't already know about this situation, she needs to be made aware. It appears Yukari's Outside problem has metastasized."

"Uh, are you sure that's a good idea, Boss?" Rin indicated Utsuho with a flick of her tail, not that the hell raven was aware of much anything besides the tremendously complex process of powering down the reactor.

"I am well aware of your concerns, Rin. There is a saying, however; 'a moving target is harder to hit'. Considering what I saw within the mind of that . . . thing, I think it best to move _very_ swiftly indeed."

* * *

_This is bad!_ Sayaka skidded to a halt as she discovered the alleyway which she had entered was in fact a dead end. Behind her, the Warlock entered the alley, moving with a deceptively fast lurching pace.

"They told us what your little bitch friend did. The White Knight put away 17 of the Oyabun's best men-" Even in mortal peril, Sayaka couldn't keep a sarcastic chuckle away; careful negotiations between Homura and Yamaguchi-oyabun had led to only the worst of the gutter refuse getting captured by the Mitikahara Constabulary. _Obviously they missed a few,_ thought Sayaka as she looked at the monster stalking towards her.

"_Shut up!_" A twitch, and the yakuza-Warlock's hand exploded into a set of butchering claws. "Here's what we're gonna do, little girl! I'm gonna slice you up into 17 pieces, that's right, one for every man your father arrested, and he'll get one piece back for each one of the oyabun's men he releases!" And then another predator entered the alleyway, but the Warlock remained unaware that his own status had changed to "prey".

"Hey Dumbass!" The shout got the monster's attention, and he turned just in time for Nova's baton to hit him square in the face. The Warlock bounced off the far wall, followed by a hail of blood and teeth-chips. "I got a math problem for ya!" While the Sorrow Graft was as powerful as ever, the substandard base material used for this Warlock was struggling with the mind-rending pain. The Warlock was still clawing his way to his feet when bands of Witch-speak wrapped around Nova's weapon. "_Negation Sign ~ Calculation of Entropy!_" called the Puella Magi, and the boiling husk of a dead star shot from her baton to disintegrate the Warlock in a flash of utterly cold darkness.

_Well played, Unit 952. Too bad it was in vain. _Nova's blood ran cold as the enemy's own trap swung closed. A new Purifier stood at the mouth of the alleyway, flanked on either side by a Warlock, real ones this time. Worse, one of the monstrous amalgamations of flesh and corrupted iron was holding Charlotte in his hands. The little Puella Magi had been outpaced by Nova in her zeal to reach Sayaka, and she hadn't had a chance to escape the ambush. _I believe this is what you Humans call 'Checkmate'._

"Like hell it is!" Marisa touched down hard outside the alley, followed by Shou, Sanae, and Mami. Madoka and Homura perched upon the roofs of the adjacent buildings, arrows nocked and pointed.

_Oh? And how does this change anything at all? How finely can you tune that Master Spark of yours? Will it be enough to spare this dear little girl? _A midnight hand reached out to gently caress Charlotte's throat, but where the fingers drew across skin, blood trickled down afterward from shadow-burns. _For her to die by the hand of her supposed rescuers. Oh, that would be truly. . . _The Purifier tipped his head back in a languid gesture and licked the fresh blood from his fingers. _Delicious._

_Damnit! _Sayaka had dropped to a knee, eyes squeezed shut so she didn't have to witness the inevitable conclusion. _She's gonna die, and it will be my fault! I could have stayed and talked it out, but noo, I had to storm off and act the injured princess, and now Charlotte is going to pay the price. Kyōko, you were right. I have no business being a Puella Magi if all I can do is bring harm to my friends. _Tears slipped from Sayaka's eyes, splattering upon her hands and the precious gem she held.

As Sayaka's private drama was playing out, the forces arrayed against each other were coming to the crescendo of their own standoff. The Warlock holding Charlotte tickled his captive with his murder-making fingernails, drawing another welter of blood. Marisa tightened her grip upon the Hakkero, arcs of power leaping from the mouth of the spell-reactor. Shou set her spear and Sanae raised her gohei wand. Tension mounted as both sides realized the first to move would likely end up the loser, but striking second would cost the slower party what they truly wanted. _Ahahaha! This is foolish. _Mirth wracked the Purifier as he attempted to goad the girls into making a mistake. _Your red-white demon isn't here, so I could easily crush your friend's soul here and it will cost me nothing more than the energy needed to conjure another body. Ah, choices, choices . . . do I kill her now, or see what other tortures I can make you inflict upon yourselves in the vain hope that I will show mercy?_

What happened next came as a shock to everyone as a spearhead exploded through the captor Warlock's arm, removing the limb entirely. The spear broke into linked segments, wrapping around Charlotte and yanking her to safety. Both parties followed the weapon back to its' wielder, and what they saw was surprising indeed: Sayaka stood at the other end of the weapon, dressed in her Puella Magi garb, only it had colored a deep royal purple. Where Sayaka's Soul Gem usually sat encircling her navel, instead there was a red/blue yin-yang device. And the intensity in the girl's ghost-flame purple eyes was part Kyōko, part Sayaka, and part _rage_.

"I say, you get neither." Sayakyo pulled out a packet of Pocky and clenched the last stick between her lips, melty but still servicable. "Let's dance!"

BGM : Syrufit - Love=ALL - Jump!

The now-maimed Warlock was fletched with half a dozen burrowing arrows which sank into its' flesh at the same time as a Master Spark and a wave of poison serpents arrived, and the monster simply disappeared in a fulminating blast, but the Purifier was already on the move, and only a determined stop-block by Shou kept the fiend from removing Sanae's head at collarbone-height.

Sanae gritted her teeth and fired back with a spread of ofuda, heeding Reimu's warning now that she had seen firsthand what these monsters could do. A sensation like panic registered upon the shadow-sculpted face of the Purifier, and it faded away into dark mist to escape the sealing charms. The one remaining Warlock launched itself down the alleyway, seeing Nova and Sayakyo as the juiciest targets. Nova stepped into the attack, holding her baton before her in a defensive bar, but as the weapon turned aside the first salvo of swooping murderous claws, the scorpion spear snuck in low and yanked the Warlock off its' feet, hurling the monster into a wall. Sayakyo spun as she recalled the spear and turned in to another thrust, but it bit only stone as the Warlock dived away. Charlotte tumbled beneath the fiend's slashes and cried out in triumph as her yo-yo wrapped around the Warlock's feet, but that shout soon turned into one of pain as the powerful monster nearly yanked the peach-haired girl's arm out of its' socket. Still, the little Puella Magi dug in her heels and hauled back on her line, slowing up the Warlock enough that Nova could knock the monster senseless with a swing.

BGM : 2:21

_That is / One day_

"Go! I'll keep 'em busy!" Rin Kaenbyou braked hard in the air, turning to face the monstrosities that had been gaining on her and Utsuho since they reached the above-ground world. Fire lit up Kasha's hands as she prepared to loose Hell upon their enemies. Apparently, the Incubators and their masters decided if Utsuho wasn't interested in switching sides, she wasn't going to get to be on any side at all.

_Somewhere / I lost something_

"No! I won't leave you behind!" Utsuho spread her wings wide, and her Third Leg came alive with nuclear fire.

_What / Should I believe in_

"You mustn't! We promised!" Rin slapped a hand over the hell-raven's massive arm cannon, pulling it out of line.

_So that then / One day_

"I can't just watch you fight and get hurt! I can't!"

_Off somewhere / You might fly_

"Okuu, I'm sorry. Sometimes we have to do stuff we don't want to." Rin eyed the sky nervously; there was very little time left for discussion.

_You / Were afraid_

"No! You and Satori always say that! I'm strong! I know I am, that's why everyone is scared of me. Why am I strong, if I can't protect you and Satori? And if I can't, then why don't you just rip this thing outta me and give it to someone who can use it!" Utsuho placed her free hand upon the Yatagarasu Eye embedded in her chest, and for a moment Rin was afraid her friend would actually try tearing away the Eye. "What good am I otherwise?"

_Weren't you / Of the real me?_

"Okuu, I'm sorry . . . " the apology left Rin's lips, and then there was no more time, as the fiends were upon them.

Flashes of every color in the imagination rocked the sky, turning masses of the flying Reductors to just so much smoke in an instant.

"Huh. Well I guess that saves the trouble of trying to get you to come to another meeting." Reimu looked at Rin with bemusement.

"What the fuck is going on up here?!" snarled the hell-cat for a reply.

"Get to the Shrine. I'll tell you, after we deal with this mess." For a second, it look like Rin was going to argue with Reimu, but then the Kasha got a hold upon her furious nature and nodded. Rin took Utsuho's hand and dived for the safety of Hakurei Shrine while Youmu and Sakuya settled in to bring the pain.

* * *

Back in Mitikahara, Madoka Kaname took a leap that had Homura's heart in her throat as the pink-haired girl touched down close enough to poke the rampaging Warlock with her bow. Madoka skittered out of the way as the Warlock threw slashes and beams in a vain attempt to strike her down. Roses blossomed around the cancerous iron inclusions in the Warlock's body, their thorny vines seizing the fiend's limbs and rendering it nearly immobile. Nova, Sayakyo and Charlotte took refuge atop the buildings which formed the alleyway, and Mami recognized a cue when she saw one.

"_Tiro Finale(Master Spark)!_" came the shout and not one but two hellish blasts tore down the alleyway to obliterate the stricken Warlock. Mami and Marisa shared a look, as though mentally arguing over who got to count the coup on that one.

"Overkill much?" snapped Sanae as she tried to box in the Purifier enough for Shou to spear it.

"Nah, there's no such thing as overkill. It's just efficiency, ze!"

"How . . . do you . . . figure?" was the shrine maiden's reply as she rolled out from under a beam of killing darkness and tossed some ofuda into the mix.

"They're pre-cremated for the funeral, ze!" Sanae had no time to laugh, however, as the Purifier hurled himself straight into Shou's next attack and exploded into poisonous vapors. The tiger Youkai got a lungful and fell back, wheezing, but Sanae bore the full brunt of the Purifier's wrath as he fell upon the shrine maiden in a choking cloud. A Final Spark pushed the Purifier off, but Sanae caught some of the bleed-over and sprawled out flat on the ground. The Purifier re-formed immediately, diving for a finishing blow, but was interrupted by a sword whistling through the air.

BGM : 4:42

The skies over Gensokyo shook to the rhythm of _danmaku_. A Purifier had learned to fly, which was just one of the disturbing revelations of the afternoon. Reimu Hakurei ground her teeth and struggled to keep her temper in check as she loosed salvo after salvo of ofuda. Streams of knives crisscrossed the air as well, as Sakuya tried to help the shrine maiden pin down their foe in a three-dimensional space. And Youmu . . . simply floated in place, eyes closed. Aside from her Myon occasionally parrying a bolt which came to close, the half-ghost had yet to do anything.

_Is that fear I taste?_ the Purifier's telepathic voice insinuated itself into the Gensokyans' minds even as six wings of smoking shadow snapped closed around its' body, warding off the impact of the Yin-Yang Orb in a manner similar in effect, if not power, to a danmaku duelist's Last Word. _Or are you simply another weakling, since you are halfway in the grave already?_

Youmu opened her eyes. Putting a thumb on the tsuba of _Roukanken_, the half-phanom freed the spirit-forged katana from its' sheath."You make a mistake, fiend. The things which cannot be cut by my strike are as next to none." Youmu set her eyes upon the Purifier . . .

_Hell Realm Sword ~ 200 Yojana in One Slash_

. . . and then she was far behind the Purifier. A soft _clink_ signaled _Roukanken's _return to its' sheath, but no mortal eyes had seen the katana in action. Yet Youmu had indeed struck true. "And you should know, the thread which ties your loathsome existence to this world is not immune!" Eight slivers of metal, the perfectly-cut remains of the Purifier's Grief Seed, fell free from within the fiend, and there wasn't even time for the Purifier to cry out as it disintegrated.

* * *

_You missed!_ A thicket of blades stuck in the ground around Sanae and the wall next to where the Purifier stood. _So much for your heroic intervention- _Sayakyo burst out laughing.

"And you're an idiot!" The girl with two souls turned over a card in her hand. Witch-runes upon the face of the card spelled out _Deception Sign ~ Apple-Blueberry Marmalade_, and in that instant the swords exploded into twists of Kyōko's barrier chains, which wrapped around the Purifier tightly enough that not even his regrets could escape as the burning metal links tore him to pieces.

Sayakyo dropped to her knees and suddenly her Puella Magi finery vanished, leaving a single, whole girl and a Soul Gem. "Uwaaah! Brain . . . hurts. Carry me." grumbled Sayaka as she squeezed her head trying to keep it from exploding.

"Okay, what the hell did I just see?" Sanae was still laying upon the ground, waiting to see if it was safe to stand up yet or not.

"Um, well, Sayaka-chan and Kyōko-chan were having a lover's quarrel earlier because Sayaka caught Kyōko and Homura-chan making out and so Sayaka stormed out of the house when we came over to speak to Reimu-san and the rest of you and Kyōko must have given Sayaka her Soul Gem to keep Sayaka company while she was having her tantrum, which is how she contacted us and let us know she was in danger. Sayaka-chan and Kyōko-chan temporarially fused souls so Sayaka could use Puella Magi powers again and save Charlotte-chan from the Warlock." the other girls simply gaped in awe as Madoka rattled off her recitation of events. "(Does she even breathe?)" asked Shou as she listened to the words spilling from the pink-haired girl.

"Oh! And sometime yesterday, I think it was when she was bothering that phoenix-girl," here all three of the Gensokyans twitched uncomfortably that the thought of intentionally irritating Mokou, but Madoka still didn't seem to notice. "Homura-chan discovered how to make Spellcards like you all use, and she taught Kyōko-chan, which is how Sayaka-chan was able to use one just now."

"Lord Bishamon preserve me, I shall never call Nue or Mamizou strange again!" Shou mused after witnessing the tale, which was the most polite and coherent way any of the Gensokyans could sum up their thoughts. Madoka just beamed.

"If I might make a suggestion, we need to rest and recover our balance. Shall we break off here, and continue tomorrow?" Homura interjected after a suitable pause.

"Uh, if you're sure there won't be any more attacks?" Sanae stood and dusted herself off.

"I can't imagine them attacking again," replied Nova. "Purifiers are not nearly as expendable as Incubators and Reductors, and that was the third one we've killed. If there's any such thing as justice in this world, Accounting is going to have a word with whoever sanctioned this expedition, and they'll be off our backs." The ex-Incubator snorted, a sarcastic eye-roll showing how likely she thought that possibility. "Really though, we'll get at least_ some_ time off while they figure out what to do."

"We should make our own plans first, and we should make sure they are _final_." Shou stabbed her spear into the ground to emphasize her point and then put one foot upon the haft. "I hate to disappoint Hijiri-sama, but some Youkai are beyond saving. I think it is more than appropriate to send these Purifiers straight to Hell, let the Yama deal with them." Nova giggled, which earned a sharp look from Shou.

"Sorry, sorry, it's just that we met Eiki-san yesterday and her and the Purifiers, well it's a match . . . made in hell!"

"I . . . see," replied the tiger-Youkai, but there was a smirk on her face as well.

* * *

" . . . wha-? What happened?" Kyōko levered herself up into a sitting position from where she had been sprawled on the floor in Sayaka's house. Every bone and muscle in her body was protesting, loudly, her condition.

"Hang on, Kyōko-chan, here." Madoka, still in her Puella Magi garb, knelt and gently embraced the red-haired girl. A tingle of magic wove through Kyōko's body, and she instantly felt better. "I've healed you, but you should still take it easy for a while. Your body and Soul Gem both need some time to recover."

"My Soul Gem-? Oh, shit, you mean I wasn't dreaming? That actually happened?! The fight with the Purifier, and, uh, merging with Blueberry for a moment?"

"You were really cool, um, both of you!" Madoka grinned up at Sayaka, but the blunette was still flushed with emotions.

"I'm so sorry Kyōko. In my foolishness I let the Purifiers sneak up on me, and I was forced beyond the 100 meters radius. You were dead for almost an hour there, which is why everything hurts." Sayaka handed Kyōko her Soul Gem, eyes still downcast.

"Will you two be okay, or do you want us to stay for a while longer?" Homura stood stiffly in the doorway as Madoka made her offer.

"I think we'll be okay, besides you guys are gonna be busy too." In response to Madoka's questioning look, Kyōko cupped the pink-haired girl's chin and drew her close enough so Kyōko could whisper in her ear. Madoka's eyes went wide at first, and then a smile grew upon her face that could best be described as "evil". Still grinning ear to ear, Madoka stood up suddenly and darted over to Homura.

"If you'll excuse us, we have some work to do . . ." said Madoka as she pulled Homura out of the house.

"There, that's taken care of. I just wish I hadn't fucked it up in the first place." Kyōko flopped back down onto her back and stared up at the ceiling.

"What did you _do_? Madoka has been my best friend for, oh, forever, and I've never seen her grin like . . . _you_ before."

"You notice how Homura hasn't been the lump of ice we all know and loathe lately? I finally figured out what her problem is-"

"-you mean besides slobbering all over you?" Sayaka sat down next to Kyōko and began idly toying with the mass of crimson hair spread across the floor.

"Actually, that was one of the big things. What would you say if I told you Homura Akemi was softer and more shy than Madoka on a bad day?"

"I'd say your brain needs to be healed some more," replied Sayaka, with a roll of her eyes. "Wait, you're actually being serious, aren't you? How the hell-?"

"Yeah. That's why I was kissing her, I needed to get her to loosen up so I could see the real her for once. I only regret that I didn't think of a better way to do it, although she is a pretty good kiss-" Kyōko dropped that line of thought when she felt the 1000-watt glare pouring down upon her from above. "Right, anyway. A long time ago, in a fairytale far, far away, there was a little girl named Homura who transferred to Mitkihara after being deathly sick for almost a year. This poor sweet little girl was attacked by a Witch and then saved by a brave, beautiful cool Puella Magi by the name of Madoka Kaname.

"Well this quiet, timid little girl became friends with Madoka, the first close friend she had ever had, because of the illness which kept her down." Tears sprung unbidden to Kyōko's eyes as the emotions she had drawn from Homura pressed upon her full-force. "Her reward for sticking close to her new friend was that she got to hold Madoka in her arms as Madoka was destroyed by the Walpurgis."

"Oh gods, that's when Kyubey stepped in, isn't it?" Sayaka put a hand to her mouth, trying to contain the horror.

"Yep. You notice how Nova is always real quiet and polite around Homura, but she never actually apologized to her like she did with the rest of us?" to Sayaka's nod, Kyōko said, "Part of Nova's 'understanding' power is she can read our emotions when directed toward her. She thinks if she actually brought up the subject of the contract with Homura, the sheer force of Homerun's anger would disintegrate her."

"And?"

"Nova's being stupidly optimistic on that count." Sayaka shivered at the pronouncement. "Anyway, here's the upshot; Homerun has been doing the 'eternal warrior' bit for so long, she doesn't know how to adjust. That cute little shy girl who first met Madoka is coming out again, and the real Madoka just can't compare in her mind to this mythic being she sacrificed so much of her life to save. So she latched on to the first person who excited her- What?" asked Kyōko as she met Sayaka's dumbfounded glare.

"I don't believe you."

"Hey, I'm telling the truth!"

"Maybe, but 'courageous' and 'cool' and 'Kyōko Sakura' just don't fit together." replied Sayaka with a smirk.

"Hey, that hurts, Blueberry! Anyway, so maybe I'm not an exact match, but I'm the most exciting option, which is what Homerun is looking for, if she would be honest with herself."

"Okay, fine, whatever. But what did you say to Madoka, and how is it going to sort out this mess?"

"Well, I told her what I knew of how Homura was feeling and how she should go about fixing her." Kyōko slipped a stick of Pocky between two sharp teeth and closed her eyes, a satisfied smirk on her face.

"WHAT. DID. YOU. TELL. HER?" Sayaka jerked on the bow holding Kyōko's hair in check as she spoke, trying to drive the question home to the redhead by brute force if nothing else.

"I told Pinkie she needed to take charge for a while, and a good way to do that may or may not be to drag Homerun back to her place, throw her on the bed, and ravish her till she begs for mercy."

"You- you monster! You fiend! You filthy delinquent!"

"Hey now! If I'm a fiend just for suggesting it, what does that make Pinkie for actually going to do it?"

"Ohh gods, I don't even want to think about that!"

* * *

"Hey, what gives, ze?" Marisa was first through the portal, and rather miffed to be greeted by a phalanx of Shanghai dolls hovering around the courtyard, pointy bits out.

"Oh, nothing much, just staying ready in case another batch of baddies show up like the pile we just put down while you all were gallivanting around on the other side," replied Reimu, sarcasm as bitter as yesterday's tea dripping in every syllable.

"Wait, what the hell?"

"That's what I said- Sanae, stop right there!" Reimu put out a warning hand to her fellow shrine maiden, but Sanae batted her out of the way.

"Oh, what, now I'm not even allowed inside? Bah! As if your wreck of a shrine was anything-" Sanae's rant ended in a squeal as she yanked open the door to the shrine proper . . . and came face-to-face with Rin, who was still steaming with anger from the chase.

"Gyaaah! What is she doing here!" Sanae bounced back from the doorway in shock.

"Ooh, lookie here!" Rin polished her claws upon her dress and then fanned them, letting the razored edges catch the light. "Seems I won't have to raid Reimu's fridge for dinner after all."

"Unyu? Dinner?" came a voice from inside, and Sanae felt her blood almost freeze as she recognized the speaker. Reality hiccuped, and then Sanae suddenly found herself standing behind Reimu while Rin was now standing over by Shou, who was still leaning on the gate. Sakuya was in the middle of the pack, holding a piping teapot in one hand and a tray of cups in the other.

"Tea, anyone?" asked the Scarlet maid, with an expression on her face that said the only thing on the menu for disagreeable sorts wa_s _knives, in prodigious quantity.

Reimu took a cup to buy some time as she tried to figure out whether it would be worth the trouble to turn the incident into an object lesson for Sanae. In the end, Reimu went for the path of least resistance. "Moving right along. This is the third attack by these Purifier monsters in the space of a week. If all we do is react, we _are_ going to get overwhelmed, and considering our newest guest," Reimu motioned at Rin, who was still bristling. "_All_ of us are in harm's way."

"Okay, so what do you want us to do?" asked Sanae with impatience.

"We need to go on the attack-"

A sudden chill bite in the air heralded a new arrival to Hakurei Shrine, and the assembled Gensokyans turned to the newcomer with looks of shock and disbelief at the newcomer's audacity.

"Funny, that's just what Eye was gonna say!" said Cirno, as magic gathered in her hands.


	7. Miserable Fate

**Episode 7 : Miserable Fate**

BGM : Nobuo Uematsu - FF7:Advent Children OST - "One Winged Angel"

"What kind of idiot are you? You might have pulled a fast one on Alice, but you can't possibly beat all of us, ze!" Marisa whipped out her Hakkero in answer to Cirno's boastful challenge.

"Saying 'idiot' only makes you a bigger idiot, idiot! Eye'm here to show all of you weaklings who's the strongest of all, starting with you!" The new and improved Cirno didn't deign to walk upon the ground like a mere mortal but instead hovered a foot off the ground, held aloft by seven humming wings of crystalline ice, and she aimed her wicked broadsword at Marisa to make plain her challenge.

Sudden fog surrounded Cirno, completely absorbing the furious light of the Master Spark before it could reach her. With a single, contemptuous hand gesture the ice fairy summoned not one, nor two, but _nine_ seperate barrages of _Icicle Fall ~ Easy Prey_ to assault Marisa from every possible axis, and the rest of the girls scattered as the magician was forced to fire off a very extraordinary number of Final Sparks just to keep from being run through or chopped to tiny bits by the shrieking sawblades.

A slick of ice formed over Cirno's skin making a surface too hard and too smooth for ofuda to affect and she drove through Reimu's barrage without the slightest hesitation, raising her sword high. At the last moment the Yin-Yang Orb shot out, but Cirno dodged the mystical weapon and suddenly accelerated, outpacing the Orb as it returned for a second attack. Her ice armor was just as effective against Sanae's ofuda as Reimu's, and the Moriya shrine maiden's poison serpents could find no purchase upon the ice fairy's protective coating either. Reimu gritted her teeth in anger as she manipulated the Orb to try and strike Cirno as the ice fairy darted through the air in a maniacal pattern, but at the last moment Reimu grasped the true purpose of the erratic flight. Cirno had telegraphed her maneuvers just enough for horror to clench at Reimu's gut, but late enough that the shrine maiden could do nothing but watch as Cirno corkscrewed over Sanae, leaving the Yin-Yang Orb to slam into Reimu's counterpart like the fist of an angry god.

Cirno returned to hovering over the flagstones and gave a mocking bow, before snapping out her broadsword, which rang with an angry peal in the seemingly empty air. Youmu stumbled to a halt, pale as her Myon with the realization that Cirno had parried her _200 Yojana_ strike, but then she had no more time to worry about the problem because the ice fairy reversed her own blade and struck out in a vicious backthrust which opened a grevious wound in Youmu's flesh. Only her swordswoman's reflexes had kept the attack from severing her spine, but the attack still left Youmu in no condition to fight. Then Cirno's wings began to vibrate rapidly until they gave off a grating hypersonic hum. The Shanghai brigade fell to pieces as the humming created a destructive resonance in their wooden bodies, and Alice shifted all of her energies to defense before another attack arrived.

Still grinning with absolute malice, Cirno slammed her sword into the ground, throwing out a mirror-bright sheet of ice which covered much of the courtyard. This caused a frightened yelp to be heard before Sakuya returned to regular time, her barrage of knives aborted by the sudden loss of footing. _Easy Prey_ rained down upon the maid, leaving Sakuya with no option but to stop time and crawl off the battlefield before the lethal salvo arrived. By the time she had escaped, Sakuya was too numbed by the dangerous chill to do anything other than take cover. Then the shrine door opened.

"Unyu?" Utusho peeked out the door inquisitively, having heard the sounds of battle. Cirno's eyes narrowed dangerously as she spotted the avatar of her hated opposing element and she drew out another Spellcard, cast in complete mockery of everything the Hakurei system stood for.

_Taboo ~ Absolute Zero_

A common first impression of Utusho Reiuji was "birdbrain", but while the hell raven was very childlike in demeanor and lacked common sense, she was quite intelligent in matters relating to her control of thermonuclear physics, and one facet of that knowledge was an exceptional sensitivity to temperature, necessary for maintaining a fusion reaction. In this case, Utsuho felt the illegal Spellcard before it went off, and so she was able to duck back inside the shrine and so avoid the worst of the killer cold. Not even a genius magician could have predicted the side-effects of _Absolute Zero_ in time to ward off what happened next, though; the sudden extreme swing in temperature caused the Hakurei Shrine to explode into a million million splinters, and Utsuho let out a shriek of pain as the shrapnel tore into her body.

BGM : 3:14

Cirno burst into flames spontaneously, and the surprise of actually being attacked staggered the vengeful ice fairy. "_YOU BITCH!_" Rin was engulfed in flame as well, but these fires were at the beckon call of the kasha and her murderous rage. "I'm gonna kill you so hard there won't be enough left of your corpse to light a campfire!"

"How dare you challenge me! Eye'm the strong-"But Cirno's reply was cut off by arcs of slashing red-and-blue flames which encircled Rin as she charged, and the ice fairy was forced onto the defensive. Hell-sharp talons fragmented Cirno's broadsword and then Rin pounced, knocking Cirno to the flagstones. Rin sat upon Cirno and flayed the ice fairy with her flame-wreathed talons, screaming incoherently the entire time.

Cirno managed to flip Rin, rolling on top of the kasha. Against another opponent this would have given Cirno the edge, but Rin's feline instincts kicked in, and she bowed her back, raising the ice fairy enough to rake Cirno with both her feet, now edged with claws of fire. Rin launched Cirno clear with a fiery wheel-kick and the ice fairy decided to stay aloft, her wings whirring in syncopation for a moment as she regained her senses. Cirno dropped low and shot off with her monstrous new speed before anyone could get another spell off. As the realization of her defeat sunk in ribbons of inky corruption took hold upon Cirno's Soul Gem, which had already been darkened somewhat by her immense output of magic in the battle.

Rin stood shaking as she watched the ice fairy retreat, and only after she could no longer see Cirno did the kasha dismiss her flames. The creaking of ruined wood reminded Rin of what had caused her to enter the fight in the first place. "Okuu!" she shouted and darted over to the remnants of Hakurei Shrine. A fireball blew away the largest heap of wreckage to reveal Utsuho, who was in a bad way from the attack.

Bloody lacerations stood out all across the hell-raven's flesh and her wings had been tattered by the blast of shrapnel. "_Shit!_" spat Rin as she saw the damage, and then she summoned her infernal wheelbarrow and used it to batter down the pitiful remnants of the side wall of the Shrine.

"Hey! What gives?!" Reimu shouted as she watched the kasha complete the demolition of the Shrine, dumping the wreckage in a pile next to where the building had stood. "What are you doing!"

Rin knocked Reimu back with an open-claw slap before turning back to her frantic task. "I'm not going to watch Okuu die, just to spare you shitty shrine, got it?" Confusion crinkled Reimu's features.

"She's . . . building . . . a bonfire." Sanae's voice was barely above a whisper as she hung on to Shou to keep standing. "Here's your magic marble," said the shrine maiden as she plopped the Yin-Yang Orb in Reimu's hand. "Hell raven, remember?"

Recognition kicked in for Reimu, but she was still stunned from seeing her shrine reduced to a pile of rubble yet again. "But, the shrine . . ." mumbled the shrine maiden. No one seemed to hear; Sakuya was bandaging Youmu's wounds with the skill born from great familiarity with battlefield injuries. Alice had scooped up the broken remnants of her dolls and tossed them on the bonfire pile as well. Mima was pouring magic into Marisa to staunch the wounds of her one-time student, and then the self-proclaimed patron deity of the Hakurei Shrine was floating beside Reimu.

"Forget the shrine for now. You don't want to start rebuilding yet anyway." Mima held up a finger to forestall any response from Reimu before continuing, "What better material for the foundations of the new Shrine than the bleached bones of your enemies?"

"Hah!" Reimu laughed, but it was a bitter sound.

Rin judged the pile to be massive enough, so on her next trip she gently lifted Utsuho and started to carry the hell raven to the bonfire. Ofuda stitched into the base of the pile in two thick lines, causing Rin to flinch. "What the-?" snapped the kasha.

"You'll need kindling to get everything lit, won't you?" said Reimu, casting one last wan look over the ruins of her home. Rin just nodded and set Utsuho upon the pile. Hot red flames sprung up from where the kasha touched the pile, and then she stood back and watched as the bonfire began to seal Utsuho's wounds.

"Please excuse me," said Sakuya, touching Reimu on the arm to get her attention before leaping into the evening sky and flying off towards home.

* * *

The fire burned for almost an hour before Utsuho opened her eyes. The hell raven hadn't even sat up before Rin was upon her, hugging Utusho tightly.

"W-what happened? Orin, are you okay?" Utsuho embraced her kasha friend as best as she could.

"Yeah, I'm okay . . . now." Rin helped Utusho to her feet and brushed down the hell raven, removing burning embers from her hair and wings. "So, when do we go find that bitch and kill the snot out of her?" asked the kasha, her temper not softened in the slightest. Reimu pondered the question. _Kill her now, and it's for keeps. Could I live with that? What about if she killed someone I actually cared about while I dither with the decision? _The shrine maiden had not come up with an acceptable answer when the leathery flap of wings heralded another intrusion.

"Oh dear, Reimu, you do seem to have the most . . . structurally unsound shrine I have ever seen!" Remilia Scarlet dropped into a curtsey which was just on this side of mocking.

"Yes, well, the donation box survived, if you'd care to make yourself useful," replied Reimu, with more bite in her voice than she had intended. Remilia just chuckled.

"Well, you certainly can't be feeling too bad if you can still make jokes," replied the Scarlet Devil, before she dropped her airy mien. "The extent of the situation has been explained to me. I have Sakuya-san preparing guest rooms, if you would like." Reimu turned away for a moment, to make sure that there was nothing left in the wreckage which needed to be rescued, or so she told herself. _Must be all the dust from the destruction, making my eyes water._

"Thank you, Remilia."

* * *

Morning arrived in Mitikahara, and Madoka Kaname awoke to a novel situation; Homura Akemi lay next to her in her bed, slumbering gently. Madoka stroked the black-haired girl's hair for a moment with a smile on her face, and then a furious crimson blush crept up on Madoka's face as she recalled the events of the previous afternoon.

Kyōko's suggestion invoked a sort of devious glee in Madoka, which in turn had put Homura into a state of anticipatory dread. Madoka's father had stepped out to do some shopping upon hearing they were having a guest for dinner, which was all the opening Madoka needed. Inspiration had struck when the girls entered Madoka's bedroom, and she tied Homura's hands together with a stocking. _"There, __now you can't escape your fate!"_ had been the line Madoka used, before the pink-haired girl set about realigning her relationship with Homura.

It was at that point Madoka's mother arrived home in a state of epic intoxication. One of Junko Kaname's more arcane duties in her company was what amounted to a "professional drinker"; informal meetings between rival firms were a part of doing business, and these supposedly-friendly meetings were always lubricated with strong drink. Junko was often called to represent her company in these situations because of her exceptional tolerance for alcohol, which permitted her extract useful information from her counterparts when they got too far into their cups. However it also meant that after such a meeting Junko was sent home early, as she was no longer in any state to do useful work in the office. Junko had walked in on Madoka and Homura kissing, spotted the impromptu tie around Homura's wrists, and then proceeded to offer advice . . . and equipment, if the girls wanted it. Madoka shook her head vigorously, trying to get the embarrassing thoughts out of her head. _Well, I'll certainly never look at Saotome-sensei the same way!_ thought the pink-haired girl as she began the morning's rituals, starting with waking her mother. Junko was politely but forcefully turned out of bed.

"Nng. . . what gives?"

"Payback for yesterday," replied Madoka, still keeping a sweet smile on her face.

* * *

"This sucks." Kyōko laid on a couch in Mami's apartment, kicking her feet idly. Although the girls were still on holiday due to the trauma of the week's events, Sayaka had been called in to the station by her father to help devise a defense against the insidious influence of the Purifiers, so Kyōko had wandered over to Mami's place, preferring any other company to sitting inside a police station. _They might not decide to let me out!_ was Kyōko's line of thought, a reflex from her street days. However, upon arrival Kyōko had discovered that Mami and Nova had left the apartment for the day to do some shopping, leaving the redhead with no one to talk to but Charlotte. That had lasted all of five minutes, and then Kyōko plopped down on the couch.

Kyōko wouldn't admit it to herself, but the core of her problem sat within the silver ring upon her left hand. Sayaka's improvisation as well as repairing and reconnecting to her body had left Kyōko's Soul Gem heavily dirtied. At the time, the plan to split the Grief Seed from the Purifier they destroyed amongst the Puella Magi to keep everyone else in fighting trim rather than burn the whole thing just to bring Kyōko back up seemed reasonable, but now the redhead was souring on the situation. _Damnit, I'm not supposed to be the one who needs protecting! _The thought ran uncomfortably close to what Sayaka had said about her own situation, and so Kyōko decided to look for something with which to distract herself. _This is Mami's pad, there_ must_ be something good to eat somewhere!_

A quick pillage of the refrigerator yielded a large slab of creamy cake topped with strawberries. Kyōko set the cake on the counter and went for a fork, but found her path blocked by a furious peach-haired figure.

"No way, thief! My cake!" Charlotte crossed her arms and tried to both pout and glare at the same time, with the net result being rather hilariously cute, but Kyōko was in no mood to notice. All the redhead saw was an obstacle . . . and an opportunity for some entertainment.

"Okay, fine. I'll fight ya for it, squirt!" Charlotte's eyes went wide, but only for a moment.

"You're on!"

The girls carefully stripped the living room of anything breakable and rearranged the couches to make a ring. Kyōko smirked and bared her fangs as she sized up her opponent- Charlotte surrendered 5cm and a couple of kilos to Kyōko, and while Sayaka could certainly claim to have "tamed" her Kyōko still possessed her street-honed instincts for dirty fighting, which made the matchup anything but fair. Thus the red-haired girl was quite surprised, after making a formal bow to start the brawl, as she was almost instantly plowed into one of the couches by Charlotte's charge.

Kyōko growled and dug in her heels, hurling the smaller girl bodily off herself as she stood and then Kyōko bowled Charlotte to the floor, but she was surprised again as the little peach-haired girl rolled her and put a knee into Kyōko's ribs.

"So that's how we're gonna play it? Well, don't say I didn't warn you, Peachie!" Kyōko clapped a hand over Charlotte's ear and when the smaller girl flinched, Kyōko levered herself up and put Charlotte into a headlock, but all that earned her was a bite on her arm. Kyōko swore profusely and Charlotte rolled out of the grapple, panting a bit.

Kyōko looked down into eyes which simmered with . . . _something_, she couldn't tell what as Charlotte bore in on her again. This time Kyōko was ready, though, and she allowed herself to move with the hit, turning it into a throw which deposited Charlotte into the couch with a hollow _thud_. Kyōko was on top of her opponent in a flash, pinning Charlotte's arms and leaning on her knees to keep the peach-haired girl from getting off any more shots.

"I hate you!" Charlotte yelled, but her quivering lip stole much of the heat from her words. Kyōko looked down in puzzlement as the peach-haired girl came unglued beneath her. "Why did you have to do this to me, you meanie!"

"Hey it was your idea-" Kyōko was cut off as Charlotte tried to headbutt her, being the only attack she could make.

"Not that, stupid! You really don't know do you?"

"Uh, no . . . Care to explain?"

"Arrgh, I knew it! You and that stupid Sayaka, I wish you had both died yesterday!" Kyōko's eyes went wide with shock, and then she bore down upon Charlotte with enough force to raise a squeal of pain.

"You wanna explain that?" Instead of answering, Charlotte snapped her head forward again, this time connecting forehead-to-forehead with Kyōko in a way that left both girls seeing stars. Kyōko thumped to the floor and Charlotte just flopped back on the couch. "Oww . . . what the hell was that for?"

"It was either that or kiss you, and you don't deserve that!" In response to Kyōko's dumbfounded look, Charlotte snarled, "You leak, you know that? All the time, you and her, I can feel it. I can feel everybody anyway, you know?" Kyōko in fact did not know, as Mami had never shared what she had learned about the tertiary powers which came along with Charlotte's wish, but the redhead thought it best to nod along before the little Puella Magi decided to throw something more dangerous than a headbutt. "But you two, you're the worst! You get inside my head, in my dreams, and you poison my brain! I love you, both of you, and I want you so bad it hurts, only I don't really, because it's not actually me, it's just you and Sayaka reflecting off my mind, but okay, I kinda do actually like you, but it doesn't make any sense because I can't tell what's me and what's not anymore!"

"Why didn't you tell us? I never knew we were that bad. I'm sorry."

"Well, it's like this," Charlotte looked away, refusing to meet Kyōko's eyes as she told her story. "It didn't get really bad until we started getting attacked. Everybody is burning a lot . . . brighter, I guess, now that we're fighting again. And before that, well, I didn't want to be a bother. I was so alone for so long, I was willing to take anything just to be around people again. You don't know what it's like-" Charlotte was cut off suddenly as Kyōko burst out laughing.

"Hey, stop right there, cause I know _exactly _what that's like. I'd been living on the street for a year when Mami died. She had been my best friend until I fucked that up, and my first crush, and you know what the only thought went through my head was? 'Hey, that means I can take over her turf and slurp up more Grief Seeds'." Kyōko was going to say more, but she stopped upon seeing Charlotte right on the edge of crying.

"Why does everybody have to bring that up? Why? I already said I was sorry! What more do you people want from me!" Kyōko wrapped the smaller girl up in a hug.

"Hey. Hey. It's okay. I didn't say it to hurt you. What happened, happened, and all we can do is pick up the pieces. Besides, it could be worse- Nova has what, 25000 years of bad karma to burn off?" The remark got a giggle from Charlotte, which was encouraging. Kyōko drew in a steadying breath and then bared her soul once more. "And you're not a murderer, like me." Kyōko ignored the look of shock she was getting and plowed straight ahead, telling her tale in a monotone.

"It was spring, right before I moved to Mitikahara. God have mercy, I must've been almost feral then. There was a cherry-blossom festival in Kasimono. I was following a family, Mommy, Daddy, and two little girls. They had taiyaki, hot, fresh taiyaki and I was drooling. A Familiar showed up. I knew what was coming. The Barrier formed and the screams started. And may God damn me, I sat there and ate their fucking taiyaki while the Familiar ate their souls. It was just good business, you know? Let the Familiar get fat and full, and then pop it as soon as it becomes a Witch with an actual Grief Seed. No sense in working my ass off for no reward. That's what I told myself anyway."

"Whoa," was all Charlotte could say. Kyōko laughed at herself, sounding only a little bitter.

"It's funny, you know the first time I met Blueberry I tried to kill her? When I saw how she fought, and heard her 'ally of Justice' routine, it reminded me too much of myself when I first got started, so I had to beat her. After all, what was the point of sacrificing my humanity if not to become stronger? If she won, then wouldn't I look like shit?"

"So what happened? All I know is, er, how things are now. Unless you're trying to exhaust her to death . . . " Charlotte trailed off as her face turned crimson.

"Ha! More like she tries to smother me-" At the goggle eyed look Charlotte was giving her, Kyōko broke off. "Er, wrong subject. Anyway, Homerun happened. She was, uh, _different_ back then. But she turned me away from a killing blow in the first fight. And then . . . " Kyōko trailed off as she thought back to the night when she was given her chance for redemption. "It's crazy, when you think about it, all this is because of a cheap take-out meal." Charlotte gave Kyōko a stupid look then, and the redhead didn't need the empathic link to know the younger girl was wondering if her brain had been broken by the headbutt earlier. "Stay with me here for a moment, okay? Homerun had been stuck in a timeloop of sorts, trying to keep Madoka from making a contract with Kyubey. By the time she got to 'our' time, she thought she had us all figured out. Well she lured me over to her pad by buying me dinner, just a cheap beef bowl, but at the time it looked like five-star gourmet to me. Street life will do that to ya.

"Next thing I know, she's trying to kill Sayaka, to keep Madoka from contracting to save her or something? I never asked. Anyway, by this time I'd gotten over trying to kill Blueberry myself . . . okay so I was crushing on her pretty hard, but I hadn't admitted it. Well, I saw Homerun go for the kill and I got pissed, I knew she knew I was there, so it was like 'does she really think she can get me to sell out Sayaka for some cheap-ass takeout', and so I clobbered Homerun, basically to soothe my wounded pride. Blueberry got away, well not really, she kinda staggered off. She was burning out at this point.

"Then I caught up to her again at a rail station, and I saw it. Her Soul Gem was about one drop of grief away from going over. I decided that wasn't acceptable! I wasn't about to let Homerun get the last laugh. Maybe I'm not proud of why I did it, but I won't argue with the results. I linked our Soul Gems and cleaned up Blueberry enough to keep her from dying."

"So that's what love is, then?" Now Charlotte had actual tears in her eyes. It was enough to draw a frustrated sigh from Kyōko, then she wrapped the peach-haired girl up in a hug.

"No, I think that's what crazy is. I took some insane risks just to sate my pride. It just happened to work out for the best."

"T-then, can you show me . . . " Charlotte trailed off. Kyōko braced herself to hear aloud what the littlest Puella Magi's heart was saying. "Show me what makes you sing so loud in my mind. I want to feel it for myself, just once."

Nervous sweat prickled along Kyōko's scalp, and the only thing she could think was _Oh God, what if Blueberry catches me in the arms of yet _another_ girl?_ But the pain and desire washing through the empathic link were too strong to ignore, and Kyōko saw a glimmer of hope, of need in Charlotte's eyes that she had to answer.

"You know we won't be able to be together?"

"I know." Charlotte nodded, tears in her eyes. "I just want to know what I'm looking for." Kyōko surrendered and embraced her fellow Puella Magi. Their lips met, and a shock ran through both girls as Charlotte's gift flooded the empathic link to where Kyōko was feeling Charlotte feel Kyōko feeling Charlotte kissing her.

"Oh wow!" said Charlotte after they finally broke apart, having been locked in the intense sweetness of the kiss for many minutes. Kyōko let herself fall back on the couch and looked up . . . right into Mami's eyes.

"Enjoying yourself, Lolicon-san?" asked Mami, gentle reproach on her face.

"Hey, she started it!" squawked Kyōko.

"Actually, I'm rather glad it happened." Nova said from the kitchen, where she had been putting away the groceries. "Charlotte has been quite tense lately, and I suspect this was part of the reason why." Charlotte nodded along, but Mami still frowned.

"Perhaps, however Sakura-san should not have taken part, both because she is the senior and because she already has a partner."

"(Hey! I'm right here! Don't talk like I'm some mythical creature-)" growled Kyōko, but Charlotte just giggled and laid a hand on the redhead's shoulder. "(You'll get used to it with those two, or you'll go bonkers and stab them.)" this earned a raised eyebrow from Kyōko, and Charlotte grinned and held up her hands to show that she was, in fact, carrying no knives.

"Do you think that Kyōko is taking advantage of the situation?"

"Well no, that's not what I'm saying," Mami turned to Nova, still frowning. The ex-Incubator held the blonde's stare, and for a moment Kyōko expected that if Nova had cat ears, they'd be laid back flat and the white-haired girl would be hissing. Charlotte also was aiming a glare at Mami.

"Not fair! Don't punish me for your mistakes!" snapped Charlotte. Mami jumped back in shock.

"What do you mean, Charlotte-san?" asked Mami, and now even Kyōko could see the blonde Puella Magi was upset about more than just the situation at hand.

"Hold up!" Nova stepped back, hands out to placate both Mami and Charlotte. "This is gonna get really bad, really fast. I wish I could still say 'I don't get humans at all', but it is what it is. Mami, I'm sorry. Just because I can hear your intentions, doesn't mean I should eavesdrop."

"A-and I'm sorry too, Mami. Hah!" Charlotte giggled nervously at herself. "This whole mess started because of my sense, and here I use it to make things worse."

"Nova-san, why don't you take Charlotte out for some ice cream?" Nova and Charlotte both readily agreed with Mami's suggestion, as their sensory powers told them both what Mami _actually_ meant, and also for Charlotte, as with Kyōko, there was no such thing as "too many sweets". Not being a member of the "supernatural insight into the minds of others club", Kyōko just sat on the couch confused.

"Okay, who was that and what did she do with our Nova?" asked Kyōko as soon as the door was securely latched. Mami chuckled as she put a kettle on for tea.

"She is a bit more . . . " mused the blonde Puella Magi, looking for the best way to describe Nova's recent transformation.

"Competent? Not-emo? Useful?"

"Something like that. At some point during the last round of attacks she realized that the Purifiers weren't going to go away, and so she pulled herself together."

"Well, that's good. How are you and her getting along?"

"We haven't slept together again, if that's what you mean." replied Mami flatly.

"Why does everybody assume I'm only about food or sex?" Mami declined to comment, but simply looked at Kyōko until an embarrassed blush popped out on her face. "Okay, so there was cake and kissing involved in today's visit, but I swear I wasn't planning the latter. Seriously though, are you guys doing okay?"

"I . . . don't know, actually. We were drawn together by a fluke interaction between our Wishes. Outside of _that_ night, we have gone no further, and I am unsure of how or even if I should proceed."

"Damnit, I seem to be making everybody feel bad this week." Kyōko hung her head. "Why didn't anyone tell me I was causing Charlotte so much grief?"

"None of us realized she was in such dire straits until just recently, and we have been busy with all the other crises which have popped up. It's no excuse for ignoring her, but it is what happened. I trust you will not take inappropriate advantage of the situation?" Mami stared Kyōko down as she spoke.

"Yes, but only if you tell me what the hell your real problem is." Kyōko glared right back at Mami until the blonde flinched.

"Very well, but I will warn you right now, this is not a story you wish to hear."

"Funny, I've been hearing a lot of those recently."

"Sakura-san, do you remember our time in Kasimono?"

"Yes, Mami-sempai, I remember." Kyōko rolled her eyes. The last thing she had expected was to get Sakura-san'd again, after a year and a half since she had broken away from Mami following her father's meltdown.

"I had wanted us to be more than sempai-and-kohai. I wanted it so bad, in fact, that I was afraid of what I might do to entice you. In some ways, I was glad things ended the way they did-" Mami's train of thought was interrupted by a slap impacting on her face.

"You _idiot!_" Kyōko's eyes were ablaze with anger. "Am I really so pathetic in your eyes?"

"I was only trying to protect you." replied Mami, hurt in her voice.

"Bullshit. You were willing to trust me to watch your back, but you weren't willing to trust me to say 'no' if things went too far? Did you ever think that my answer might have been 'yes'? Or would getting what we both wanted have wrecked your little perfect picture of miserable martyrdom?"

"I didn't realize . . ."

"You didn't a lot of things, okay? But how about you stop projecting your problems, and let us make our own choices?"

"I'm sorry, Sa- Kyōko-san. I was concerned for Charlotte-san, and it appears I overreacted. She's just so vulnerable-"

"See, there's half the problem right there; Peachie _isn't_ some vulnerable, delicate flower, any more than Madoka is. If we keep treating her like she's the baby of the group, that she's too fragile to actually stand on her own two feet, _of course_ she's going to withdraw and not share her problems with us. And you know what happens when a Puella Magi stops talking to her friends?"

" . . . a Witch is born. You're right. So, who are _you_ and what have you done with the real Kyōko-san?"

"Hah, what's that supposed to mean?"

"You are more mature, perceptive, and caring than the girl I knew in Kasimono, and much more so than the girl Miki-san and Kaname-san describe meeting in the spring. And while I saw some of this myself since returning, I had not realized to what extent you have changed."

"I suppose somewhere between saving Blueberry by the skin of my teeth and having to be sidelined for the good of the team, and when the hell did I sign up to be on a _team_, anyway? Between all that I suppose I somehow grew up."

"Well, I am glad. This suits you well, Kyōko-san. I would be proud to call you my friend, if you'll still have me."

"Hell yeah I will! I might have bared my fangs a bit more than normal, but I'd never desert Mami-sempai, or Mami-sempai's . . . desserts!" Kyōko and Mami both cracked up, then the red-haired Puella Magi poked at her tummy theatrically. "Speaking of which, I'm starving."

* * *

"Patchouli-san, wake up. It's noon, and the Mistress has need of you." Sakuya prodded at the Mansion's resident genius magician with some distaste; Patchouli Knowledge was as different from the punctual, polite and tidy Chief Maid as was possible.

"M-muu . . . kyuu . . . " was all the response given to Sakuya's prodding. Patchouli had fallen asleep face-first in one of her priceless tomes; only a preservative enchantment kept the pages from being damaged by a string of drool. Sakuya appeared to flicker in place for a second as she stopped time in order to spit out several choice profanities before regaining her aura of perfect calm. And then, Sakuya found that she herself was getting poked.

"So, what do you need from Sleeping Beauty here, and how soon do you need it?" Patchouli's succubus familiar put just the right kind of weight on _need_ to make it sound dirty, and Sakuya shook her head. Koakuma had been a member of the household for 66 years now, but the maid expected she would never become truly comfortable with the succubus' ways.

"Please have Patchouli-san awake and ready to analyze a set of unique magical effects by afternoon tea. The Mistress has pledged the Mansion to Reimu's cause, and to that end, we need to understand how the Outsiders' magic works as best as possible."

"Can do, Boss!" Koakuma gave a crisp military salute, and Sakuya couldn't determine whether the succubus was being sincere or mocking. _Whichever would irritate me more, certainly,_ thought the chief maid. A momentary daydream entered Sakuya's thoughts then, of locking Koakuma and Kyōko Sakura in a room and letting them do away with each other. _Better make it tiled and with a drain in the floor for easy cleanup,_ mused Sakuya. There came a crackle of electricity and a squeal from the library, and Sakuya hurried to her next chore, certain that Patchouli was now awake at least.

Lunch was served in the garden, albeit under an umbrella which cast very _deep_ shade, and the Hakurei refugees wasted no time in making a determined assault upon the hospitality of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Rin and Utsuho gave in to their carnivorous nature and tore into the tender cuts of steak, but even Reimu ate with relish. After putting away enough filet mignon to make even the Moriya Shrine sweat the cost, Reimu looked up at Remilia with a bemused expression. "I'm certainly not complaining, you understand, but isn't this a bit much? I don't want to impose upon your hospitality, especially since it's going to take some time to rebuild the Shrine."

"Well, as the saying goes, 'a guest is a pearl resting upon the velvet cushion of hospitality'. And besides, red meat is good for the blood." Remilia smirked as she spoke, letting her fangs show. Reimu rolled her eyes.

"Oh please. Take your pick; you'll either get radiation poisoning," said Reimu, angling her fork at Utsuho. "Or sarcasm poisoning," the fork moved to aim at Rin, who growled at the indication. "Or a terminal case of pessimism." Remilia chuckled.

"Yes, well perhaps I'm willing to risk it," replied the Scarlet Devil, running her tongue across her sharpened teeth. Reimu groaned. _I haven't seen flirting this shameless since . . . oh who am I kidding? Between Marisa and Alice, and the Red Ogre and Blue Ogre from Outside, Remi's practically being subtle._

"One thing to remember, Scarlet-san; you drink my blood and kill me, then _you_ get to be the Hakurei shrine maiden."

"Oh bother. Talk about moving down in the world!" _Okay, I liked it better when she was being crude,_ Reimu thought as she heard Remilia's mocking upper-class accent.

"Yo, Reimu!" came a voice from the doors of the Mansion. Reimu looked up to see Marisa and Alice. "Man that was weird; China actually welcomed me through the gate for once!"

"Only you would find it weird to be _invited_ into a dwelling," replied Reimu, before palming her face.

"Shall I instruct Meiling-san to beat the stuffing out of you in order to put you at your ease?" added Remilia with a glint in her eyes.

"Uh, no, that's okay, but thanks for the offer, ze!"

"Hmm, maybe I should anyway, for a bit of light entertainment to go with the noonday meal."

"If you have concluded the pleasantries, shall I call for the Outsiders?" asked Alice, politely but firmly steering the conversation back to more productive matters.

"Uh, yeah, sure," replied Reimu. "I'll buzz back to the Shrine to let 'em in." So saying, she stood up and excused herself from the table. Surprisingly, Remilia bounced to her feet as well.

"Shall I accompany you? It would be a shame if you were to be accosted by that reprehensible fairy again." Reimu raised an eyebrow. _Now what the hell?_ was the thought running through the shrine maiden's head, but what came out of her mouth was "Why not?"

* * *

Once the girls had hit altitude, Reimu decided that having Remilia along wasn't such a bad thing; Misty Lake was practically a part of the Mansion's back yard, which meant they were flying through Cirno's "home turf". _Maybe we'll get lucky and her Soul Gem already went dark._ Reimu shuddered at the thought; both because she still didn't truly wish to see Cirno dead, if it could be avoided, and because from what the Outsiders had said, a Cirno-Witch would be even harder to defeat. _Well, it could be worse; she could have unfathomable power, an insatiable appetite for murder _and_ Hourai immortality!_ As soon as the thought crossed her mind, a cold touch of dread settled in the pit of Reimu's stomach. "Bad! Quit thinking things like that!" the shrine maiden snarled, smacking herself upside the head.

"Problem?" asked Remilia, closing formation so she could speak.

"Just a bad thought, which with my luck will end up coming true."

"You shouldn't beat yourself up, Reimu-san," replied Remilia. For a moment, the shrine maiden thought she caught a touching note of concern in the vampire's expression, then Remilia's eyes turned sly and her fangs came out again. "You're depriving so many others of their chance to do so!"

"Thank you for your concern," replied Reimu, rolling her eyes again. Remilia grabbed Reimu's arm and this time there was genuine concern on the Scarlet Devil's face.

"I only make light of the situation in the hopes of bringing you cheer, Reimu. If my approach is offensive, please allow me to make amends."

"No, it's alright. I just can't quite deal with everything yet. I mean we were just having something like a nice little afternoon tea party, only I'm not headed _home_, I'm headed to a ruin, and I'm gonna be here just long enough to bring those girls through, so we can have a war council and figure out how to kill off Cirno. Really kill her, 'cause what she got herself into with those bastards, there's no getting out of.

"Just a week ago, when this Incident started, I sent Marisa to the Outside to _save_ Cirno's stupid ass _from_ these girls. I don't know how I could turn around and put her to death. And yet . . ." Reimu looked up to Remilia, and the little vampire was shocked to see the hollowness in the shrine maiden's eyes. "You weren't there. I don't know if Sakuya told you how it went down or not. She was going to murder us. And I don't mean like 'Flandre-in-a-rage', angry and inconsolable. Cirno was simply going to kill us all for daring to exist, and if we resisted, well, we were going to suffer for it. I have to stop her. I _have _to!"

"Why must only _you_ bear this burden?"

"Because it's my responsibility as the Hakurei shrine maiden. I know Yukari informed everyone else about the situation, but in the end, it's _my _duty. I don't know how I could live with myself, if anyone else got hurt doing my job. I had a nightmare last night." Remilia nodded; being a creature of the night, she had been up long after her guests had turned in for the evening. The walls of the Scarlet Devil Mansion were thick and well-insulated, but Remilia had still heard the shrine maiden's terror.

"I dreamed about coming to the Mansion after the battle . . . only I was carrying Sakuya's dead body back for burial. All I could do was stand there, waiting for whatever you were going to do to me for failing. And this morning, I almost panicked when I saw her. For a moment, I thought the dream had been real and this was just a dream. Even now, I'm expecting any minute for a runner from Youkai Mountain, or the Human Village or Eientei, to tell me someone is dead and it's my fault-" Remilia wrapped up Reimu with a hug before she could say anything else.

"Reimu! Stop! Please! No one has been killed, and even if someone dies, it's not your fault unless you fired the bullet yourself, you understand? You can't carry the whole world on your shoulders, and no one should make you! And where is Yukari, anyway? If this Outside phenomena is such a concern for her, the least she could do is lend a helping hand!" There was a noise somewhere between a growl and a sob in the vampire's throat, and Reimu could feel Remilia shaking with emotion.

"I don't know Remi, I really don't. I'm sorry." Even as she spoke, a part of Reimu's mind was surveying the situation from a curiously detached perspective. _This is odd. When did it go from her consoling me, to me consoling her?_ "C'mon, let's get to the portal. If there's any luck in this world, the Puella Magi have a magic bullet for situations like this and it'll all be over and done with in time for supper." Remilia nodded and dried her eyes, which showed more than their natural amount of red.

The Border opened up to reveal the whole Mitikahara crew had decided to come across. "Training" was Homura's response to Reimu's dubious expression. Remilia was first amused when she discovered none of the Puella Magi could fly on their own, but then Reimu started using the little vampire's wings to stick up flight charms as she prepared enough for everyone.

"I swear, never in my life have I been put to such a demeaning purpose!" cried Remilia, but her grin belied the haughty tone of disapproval, and she seemed to be having great fun waggling her wings around so that the Puella Magi couldn't grab any of the charms. The flight back was uneventful, and Reimu was grateful to be distracted even just for a moment by the inane chatter of the Outside girls.

"Wow, fancy!" cried out Kyōko when she caught sight of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. "They'd have to throw me out of a place like that, I'd never leave if I could help it."

"I am quite certain Sakuya and Meiling-san would fight for the opportunity to be the one to do the deed, Sakura-san." Remilia flashed a grin that displayed an array of fangs, and Kyōko bared her own sharp teeth in response. "But we'll always make room for Reimu. Even if she has to sleep in my bed," said the vampire with a wink.

"Uh, I really hate to ask," said Sayaka as she gave Remilia a look of exceptional dubiousness. "But isn't your bed a coffin?"

"Heavens no! Ghastly things, I can't imagine going in one willingly. You Outside folk have some strange misconceptions about we descendents of the great Tepes. Although, I do like the new one about sparkling in the sunlight. Five yen worth of glitter, and dinner comes to me! It's very convenient." Sayaka just palmed her face in response.

". . . never mind."

* * *

As a matter of fact, Cirno was nowhere near Misty Lake. The furious ice fairy was on the edge of the Bamboo Forest of the Lost, with a completely different goal in mind. "Gotcha!" cried Cirno in a somewhat unhinged voice as she seized upon her prey.

_What is the meaning of this?_ came the indignant mental voice of the Incubator from within his icy prison.

"You cheater! You said Eye could wish for anything Eye wanted! It didn't work! Eye want a do-over!"

_That is impossible. A Puella Magi is granted one and only one wish. Furthermore, your wish was fulfilled exactly as you worded it. If it is not to your liking, you have only yourself to blame._

"Eye got beat up! That means it didn't work!" Cirno drew out her broadsword and held it threateningly above the small white creature.

_Your wish was, and I quote, "give me the power to beat all my enemies". That is the wish that was granted. The power bestowed upon you makes it certain that you will defeat anyone who you considered to be your enemy. However, if you should happen to make new enemies after the time when the wish was granted, of course they would not be covered. We can only give you what you asked-_ The Incubator was cut off then, literally _cut off_ as Cirno slammed her icy sword into the being's head, cleaving it in half clear to the ground.

"Eye guess Eye'll have to do all the hard work myself, as usual. Where'd the gang get off to, Eye wonder?"

* * *

"I believe I have discovered a problem," said Patchouli to the assembled Gensokyans and Outsiders. The genius magician had been studying Kyōko's Soul Gem (chosen in the hopes that the 100 meter radius of confinement would keep the redhead from causing too much trouble) in order to determine how best to deal with the unique brand of magic possessed by the Puella Magi. During her analysis, Patchouli had discovered an additional taint upon the gem. "You've had contact with the Curse Goddess, yes?"

"The who? Oh, you mean that weird spinning girl, Hina or whoever?" replied Kyōko. In truth, she hadn't had a need to go anywhere to cause trouble; trouble had come to the red-haired Puella Magi, in the form of Koakuma. The succubus had gotten the Puella Magi into a "harmless parlor game", or so she said.

"Okay, next one; five letter word, begins with 'P' and ends with 'Y', and Kyōko mentioned she likes eating it as often as possible." the succubus read the clues from her cue card with a voice so smooth it could make the most innocent things sound dirty, let alone what Kyōko was feeding her. Sayaka and Madoka were both caught up in red-faced mirth, but Homura was considerably less amused.

"I want you to know," said Homura in a faux-casual tone of voice. "If that card says anything other than 'Pocky', I will _end you_."

"What? It's not my fault you have a dirty mind, Homerun!" replied Kyōko, putting one of the aforementioned biscuit sticks in her mouth. "Or does Pinkie need to spring for the _deluxe_ lion-tamer's kit to keep you in line?" Madoka might have been scandalized, considering her mother's offer of "assistance", and Homura likely would have been infuriated, but Madoka couldn't blush any redder, nor Homura glare any harder than they already were, so the comment passed unremarked.

The "research committee" was oblivious to the depravities of their colleagues, thanks to a silencing spell enacted by Patchouli as soon as she got her answer. "I suspected as much," said the purple-haired magician. "Hina Kagiyama performs an essential service for our world, but it leaves her . . . dirty. Misfortune follows her much in the same way as sharks trail blood, and to directly engage her services is to court disaster."

"I had suspected as much," said Mami in reply. "It seemed as soon as she cleansed our Soul Gems, we encountered a string of bad luck until we were almost back where we started. Hopefully Sayaka's death was enough to pay off the rest of that karmic burden."

"That seems to be the case." Patchouli prodded the glowing crimson Soul Gem floating before her. "I must ask, are you capable of granting new contracts, Nova-san?"

"Y-yes. The Purifiers might have captured me, tortured me, and tried to kill me, but they didn't give me a pink slip!" Nova retreated into the safety of sarcastic humor for a moment. _Such a simple little question, with such dangerous implications. _The ex-Incubator swallowed hard before continuing. "I am capable, but I don't know if I am _willing_ to do so."

"I understand your reluctance, but at this point, I would ask that no option be removed from the table. With the information I have gleaned, I can create new spells and wards to better contain and counteract this alien magic, but defensive measures alone will not win a war." Patchouli sighed. "I almost wish this crisis had come in an earlier era. While I mean no disrespect to Reimu-san, her easygoing and pacifist nature were bound to become liabilities-" A hard slap on the table startled the magician into silence.

"Hey, choke on it Patchy!" Marisa was on her feet, uncharacteristic anger blazing in her eyes. "I refuse to call the notion that Humans and Youkai can coexist a hindrance, and I'm damn well not gonna let things lapse into the bad old ways just because it might be convenient, got it? If that means I have to fight harder to keep things in check, that's fine by me, ze."

"Very well then," replied the magician Youkai after readjusting her half-moon reading spectacles. "Then pray tell, how will you handle the impending death or transformation of Cirno?"

"Simple, we don't let either of those situations happen, ze!" This was a more familiar Marisa; cocky and mirthful. To Patchouli's dubious look, Marisa replied with, "We just grab her and hold her down till the Puella Magi can clean her up, and then we'll threaten to spank her and send her to bed without dinner if she doesn't keep clean."

"That is exceedingly wishful thinking, even for you Marisa," replied Alice. Whatever Marisa had been planning to say in reply was cut off when the library door banged open.

"Damn, not here either," muttered Rin as she surveyed the girls. "Hey, has anybody seen Okuu?" A round of shrugs and shaken heads was the only reply. "Where in Hell could she be? This place isn't _that _big." Ice clenched at Marisa's guts, and she turned to look at Sakuya, who had an expression which said the Chief Maid had had the same idea, and liked it as little as the blonde magician did.

"There's one place she could be, and it's not good. C'mon!" Marisa stretched out a hand which was instantly filled with a broomhandle, then she snatched up Rin and shot off toward a segment of the Mansion she never intentionally went to if she could help it.

* * *

Sure enough, the basement was quaking with the sounds of a violent danmaku brawl, and even over the racket a voice both singsong and a bit cracked sang the deceptively sweet words "Apples and honey, the jam in the tea is ap-ri-cot . . ." Marisa flew though the wide open doors to Flandre's bedroom and immediately had to jink aside as a star exploded in the doorway.

"_OKUU!_ Get down here!" Rin bellowed and Utusho reflexively responded, diving for the floor at a casual speed. Flandre took advantage of the opening to keep "playing" and launched one of her Taboo Spellcards at the retreating hell raven. Marisa rolled her eyes and cracked out a Final Spark to intercept the shot. Flandre might be strong, but she had yet to learn things like subtlety or tactics.

"Mari-chan!" cried the little monster as she recognized the counterspell. For some reason, Flandre had become attached to Marisa ever since she first met the blonde magician, during the Scarlet Mist Incident, and so Flandre shot down to give Marisa a hug and/or gut her with Lävatein. Marisa caught Flandre in a hug which doubled as a body-block, keeping her hideously lethal fire wand away from anything that might not heal easily. The blonde magician stroked Flandre's strange artificial wings as the little vampire chattered away at her; the stroking had a calming effect on Flandre, and as the rainbow-hued crystals upon her wings were the source of Flandre's magic, it was easy for Marisa to shut down anything the psychotic little girl might try.

Rin was much less easygoing about the situation, however. "What the hell were you thinking?!" was her first and only question for Utsuho.

"I was _booored_, Orin! I was looking for someone fun to play with!"

"But that girl is dangerous! Didn't you see all the barriers?" Utsuho stiffened suddenly.

"Of course she's dangerous. That's why she's in the basement. That where you put dangerous things that nobody wants around, the basement. So I must be really dangerous then, cause I live in like the basement of the basement."

"Okuu, that's not true! We all live down-"

"If it's not true, then why'd you make me promise never to use my powers except to run that dumb reactor, huh? Huh?!"

"It's for your own good! The Boss and I only want-"

"Only want what? Money from the Aboveground? I do the work, and you get the reward, is that it? Or are you just too ashamed of me that you have to put me somewhere that no one else can go?"

"You know that's not true!" There was some heat in Rin's voice as she replied. Best friend or no, the kasha wasn't going to take that kind of accusation sitting down.

"Do I? Maybe you could, I dunno, _actually fucking visit me_ at the Reactor once in awhile, make sure I still know that it's 'not true'! At least that Incubator guy was willing to talk to me!"

"Okuu, that's enough! We can talk about this some more later when we can go back home-" Rin had to eat her next words and a slice of floor for dessert, in order to avoid eating a blast of thermonuclear fire instead. Utsuho spread her wings and shot down the hallway with fearsome speed.

"Aww, why'd she leave? She looked tasty . . . " said Flandre as she watched her playmate leave. Marisa bit back a curse and summoned her broom once more.

"Sorry, Flan-chan, but I have to go make sure she's okay." Marisa scruffled Flandre's hair and mounted up. Leaving the pouting vampire in Sakuya's care, Marisa scooped up Rin and rocketed down the hall in pursuit of Utsuho. In the main hall, however, the girls ran into a new wrinkle- Hong Meiling, who was stumbling toward them, looking considerably worse for wear.

"Cirno is here. She captured the Mistress and Reimu. I tried to stop her. Tell Mistress Remilia I apologize for my failings, please." and then Meiling collapsed to the floor, unconscious and bleeding.

* * *

A/N- in the absence of much of anything official, I'm using the following for Charlotte:

Ami Hikaru (Charlotte) - Ami contracted with Kyubey just before the beginning of Episode 3. Unaware of the true potential of the contract, she wished for her mother's favorite kind of cheesecake. Her mother died shortly thereafter, triggering Ami's transformation into the Witch Charlotte. Charlotte's primary weapon is a yo-yo connected to the bracelet which holds her Soul Gem in Puella Magi mode, hidden up her right sleeve. The yo-yo can also be disconnected, at which point it becomes a bola. Charlotte's secondary powers, like all Puella Magi, are a reflection of her wish. Charlotte can hear the desires of others, which can be a blessing or curse, depending on the situation. Stronger emotion makes for a louder "voice", and the closer her contact, the more clearly she can hear. The other Puella Magi with whom she is empathically linked are exceptionally loud and clear. In battle it can function as a limited danger sense. Additionally, Charlotte can generate any number of spell effects from a second bracelet around her left wrist, but she is limited to what she most needs at the moment (so serious injury locks her into healing spells only until she's feeling better), and the spell will always be manifested as a sweet of some sort.

Keeping with the naming scheme seen in PMMM, Charlotte's real name is "Ami Hikaru", drawn from Ami Mizuno (Sailor Moon) and Hikaru Shidou (Magic Knight Rayearth). Since she is still ashamed of the way she handled her contract, and the small matter of there being an official death certificate on file (she was written off as one of the many suicides in Mitikahara after her mother's death), she no longer goes by her birth name, and is enrolled at Mitikiahara Student Academy as "Charlotte Tomoe". Although she is called "the littlest Puella Magi", Charlotte is in reality no more than 3 months younger than Madoka. Charlotte is a year behind the main group though, on account of the time lost from her mother's illness and her fall (similarly, Kyōko is as old as Mami, but a year behind her age because of her time spent homeless. Honestly, Kyōko should be in Charlotte's grade, but some hard work and some shameless empathic-link cheating keeps her on par with her friends). For reference images, there is a "Mami Sand_witch_" fanart on Mami's page of the Puella Magi wiki, which is the basic Charlotte color scheme I use, and on Charlotte's page, there is a fanart of her with red and blue wings which is the basis for her Puella Magi costume.


	8. Curse of Dreams and Reality

**Episode 8 : Curse of Dreams and Reality**

"Damnit! Can this day get any-" Before Marisa could tempt Fate to an act of supreme cruelty, a Shanghai doll flitted in front of her and shushed her, waggling one tiny finger in disapproval. "Seriously though, I'm gonna give that girl a piece of my mind, ze!"

"I wouldn't do that either. You really can't afford it if she doesn't give it back," came the deadpan reply from Alice. Marisa rolled her eyes.

"Well okay then smartass, what do we do?"

"We go out there and ask her nicely to give Reimu-san and Remilia-san back."

"Oh like that's going to work!"

"If it doesn't," Alice fanned her Spellcards as she replied. "Then we ask again, and _not_ nicely this time. Everybody gather around!" her voice pitched to include all the Puella Magi and Gensokyans at once, Alice continued with, "This needs to end. Cirno is _not_ our enemy, not truly, and it is imperative that we end this conflict quickly and cleanly so we can return to our primary mission. Understand that I am open to _any _means which will put a stop to this nonsense. If it means paying a ransom, so be it. If it means putting her to death . . . then so be it. If anyone has an objection, voice it now, because when I go out that door, I intend to present a unified front. This is no longer one of Reimu's tea-and-biscuits type of Incidents. All we can do now is fight to minimize the number of tears which must be shed by the end." Nods, sullen and resolute, were the only reply Alice received.

* * *

"Are you _nuts?!_ Do you know what's gonna happen when they find out what's going on?" Rumia seethed at her friend Wriggle Nightbug. The two were on "guard detail" standing over Cirno's captives, who were shackled with manacles of ice. Remilia looked positively murderous, while Reimu just looked _disappointed_, which bothered Rumia even more. Daiyousei was already hiding behind the trunk of a nearby tree, her loyalty to her best friend at odds with the soul-shivering danger which came from aiding in the captivity of two of Gensokyo's biggest names.

"Yeah, I do actually. At least the Starlight Berzerker will give us a clean death, which is more than I can say for the Boss right now." Wriggle shivered at the thought of Cirno. "Ever since she got those new powers, it's been bringing out the worst in her. When this is over, I don't know if I still want to know her." Reimu hung her head as she heard the words. _Truly I have failed in my duty to keep Gensokyo safe. I'm sorry Cirno, you were as much a victim as any of us. I only hope you can find it your heart to forgive us._

Reimu looked at Rumia, and for a moment it looked like the Youkai of Darkness might actually be willing to talk, but then a shadow fell across the captives and captors alike, and the sight of _who_ was casting the shadow made Rumia's blood run cold in a way Cirno could never hope to duplicate.

* * *

"So, here you all are! Eye was wondering if any of you would have the guts to face me!" The sight of the ice fairy in the Scarlet Devil Mansion courtyard was a shock to all of the girls involved; gone was any pretense of the happy-go-lucky Cirno they had known. This girl was maddened and broken, although she herself couldn't see it. Certainly by the boasts and rants coming from Cirno's lips, the ice fairy herself thought she was still in control, still on top. But three of the Puella Magi heard something else entirely, the resemblance strengthened by the color of Cirno's hair and her choice of weapon.

_"you're righT! if i do it this waY, it doesn't hurt aT alL!"_

"Oh my God, look at her Soul Gem!" the momentary shock of what she was seeing was enough to make Kyōko drop her current snack. The stone was more black than than anything else, and the remainder was no longer the pure ice white of when it was first forged, but stained a greyish-brown color.

"Nobody can win this fight, now. We can only lose a little, or a lot." Homura gave the grim prediction even as Cirno laid down her final ultimatum.

"Now, because Eye'm such a wonderful and great ruler, Eye'm gonna give you one whole minute to give up and give me all your Spellcards and power items. If you're stupid enough not to do what you're told, Eye'm gonna have my associates cut somebody's head off and bring it to you, and then we'll try again!"

"Like hell! You want this? Come and get it, ze!" Marisa raised her Hakkero threateningly. Cirno went livid just as a Master Spark blazed forth.

From the balcony overhead, Kyōko and Sayaka could only clasp hands and watch as their friends rushed headlong into battle, but then a tiny tremor grabbed Sayaka's attention. "Huh, that's odd. I didn't know we could get signal clear out here . . ." muttered the blunette as she fished out her cell phone. Sure enough, the device was buzzing as a message arrived.

BGM: Yuki Kajiura - Puella Magia Madoka Magica OST - "Sis Puella Magica!"

_So that's it then . . ._ Sayaka re-read the message twice, hoping that her eyes could force it to say something other than what was written there. _The cruelty of these monsters knows no bounds, does it?_

Kyōko didn't need an empathic link to know something had gone horribly wrong, but when she read the message over Sayaka's shoulders, she was staggered by what she read. "No way!" Kyōko caught Sayaka's hand in her own and squeezed tight. "What are you gonna do?"

"There's only one thing I can do," replied Sayaka. Tears brimmed in the blunette's eyes, but she refused to give voice to the sudden pain.

Downstairs, the battle was not going well. Dirty Soul Gem or no, Cirno was still extraordinarially powerful, and it seemed she was more than a match for any one, any two of the girls attacking her. Nova had retreated back to the entryway, along with Madoka and Homura. As a melee combatant, Nova was more trouble than she was worth, reduced to making opportunistic attacks when an opponent was fighting someone else. However, the white-haired girl's true worth lay not in her attacks, but her defense; with her senses, Nova was very good at shielding her allies, and so long as she could keep focused on Cirno, the ex-Incubator was able to protect Madoka and Homura so that the two archers could stand and shoot as calmly as if they were at the archery club's shooting range, not in the middle of a battle.

A tap on the shoulder distracted Nova for a moment, and she reflexively increased her shields to compensate for the distraction. This annoyed her friends, as they couldn't shoot through the shield now, but it was considerably less bothersome than being shot full of razor-shards of ice. Nova turned to see Sayaka, and the waves of pain rolling off her almost knocked the white-haired girl down. Before Nova could ask what had hurt Sayaka so, the blunette handed her cellphone over.

"You know what I must do," said Sayaka when she received her phone back. Nova's shoulders slumped, and there were tears in her own eyes as she looked up at Sayaka.

"Say the words." said the ex-Incubator.

* * *

At Mitikahara Student Academy, Hitomi Shizuki had a reputation for being calm, collected, and neat. Although many girls (and some boys!) still pined for him, everyone considered it only natural that Hitomi was with Kyosuke- they were the Prince and Princess of Perfection, supernatural in a way that even the magic of the Puella Magi couldn't compete with. Even Hitomi's closest friends also saw her in this light, despite the trials they had shared. She was such a nice, sweet girl that even when Hitomi declared her intent to pursue Kyosuke, Sayaka couldn't attribute malice to her actions, even with the dark and terrible feelings which plagued the blunette at the time. So it would have come as a tremendous shock to anyone to discover that right now, Hitomi was worked up into a burning fury that would do Kyōko or Marisa proud.

_This was supposed to be my time! My chance to reconnect with my friends and show that I can still earn my keep!_ So far, Hitomi had missed most of the action versus the Purifiers and the Gensokyans, a fact which bothered the green-haired girl greatly. _Why do I have this Soul Gem, if not to carry my share of the burden? And COME HERE you pest!_ Hitomi lashed out with an Iron Tempest, but she only scored a tiny glancing blow as Cirno dodged out of the way. Right now, Hitomi wanted nothing more than to _calmly_ approach the ice fairy, _collect_ her in a two-handed grip, and then rip the bitch into a _neat_ little pile of scraps which she would then scatter to the eight corners of the earth! If there had been time for introspection, Hitomi would have realized just what her feelings of hurt and anger were doing to her, and seen the motes of corruption gathering in her Soul Gem from the unwanted feelings and her tremendous expenditure of magic. But there was no time and no room in her spirit for such things, and so Hitomi laid into stroke after stroke, continually chasing Cirno and assaulting her whenever the ice fairy slowed enough for the Puella Magi to catch up. Her assaults were keeping Cirno from being able to dish out any concentrated damage, but Hitomi also kept spoiling her allies' attacks, and it seemed like nothing short of the exhaustion of her Soul Gem would stop the green-haired girl from her rampage. Alice and Charlotte shared a look as they both readied lines for grappling; next time around, Hitomi was getting pulled out of the line of fire, by force if needed.

It was as though someone laid a comforting hand upon Hitomi's shoulder, and she stopped for a moment at the feeling. A curious feeling of _lightness_ came over the green-haired Puella Magi, and she looked back to see a pillar of azure light on the patio steps. "Sayaka . . ?"

_Sorrow_

"Blueberry, what are you doing?!" Kyōko felt her lover touch her soul, and the enormity of what had been done rocked the redhead back on her heels.

_Magic_

Homura observed the phenomena occurring right next to her, and felt a familiar weight settle upon herself. _So, she too has become so reprehensibly selfless. Only a friend of Madoka could be that way . . ._

_Jealousy_

"Whoa!" Charlotte felt Sayaka's caress upon her soul, an apology and a helping hand and a lingering kiss all at once. _Now I know what Kyōko really meant . . ._

_Change_

For Mami it was a thank-you, and it erased a stain which the blonde hadn't consciously realized she carried, a lingering burden of guilt for drawing Sayaka and Madoka into the shadowy world of the Puella Magi and encouraging them. No matter what would happen, no matter all the bad things that had gone before, they would always be there for one another.

_Life_

The great beam of energy vanished, and Nova extended her hands prayerfully, offering to Sayaka a treasure without compare. Masterful gold filigree wrapped around a great gemstone in the shape of chains meant not to bind but only to keep the Soul Gem from harm. Sparks of every color of the rainbow shimmered within the sapphire material of the Soul Gem, a physical reminder of the promise which the gem represented. Sayaka clasped the gemstone to her heart and let herself fall into the symphony of thoughts and feeling, hopes and dreams of the people most precious to her.

_Music_

BGM: Alstroemeria Records - of memories - "Dream Battle"

"Cirno, we need to talk." Sayaka stood tall and proud in her Puella Magi finery once more, her long cloak iridescent in the sun. A saber filled each hand, but Sayaka held her blades low and away, her posture open and non-threatening. Still, Cirno's only response was to unleash a deluge of danmaku, the icy sawblades glittering in the light as they tore toward Sayaka. The Puella Magi's sabers became blurs in the light, and frozen fragments rained down around her, but nothing touched Sayaka.

_Though now I can't see anything, and the way ahead has descended into darkness._

_Even now I keep chasing after my dreams – For me, that will never change._

"With kindness comes naïveté. Courage becomes foolhardiness. And dedication has no reward. That was the way of the Puella Magi once. You are on that hopeless path, just like we all were once. Please, let us help you, before the despair consumes you."

_Though I feel like I always do this on a whim, and that always puzzles me._

_I always have, and always will be dreaming – That too will never change._

"Y-y-you're lying! Eye feel fine! Better than ever!" Cirno fired off another barrage, as though she could drown the truth with bullets. Sayaka spun into the attack, ducking behind her cloak which absorbed the attack.

_Though there's darkness ahead, that's fine I still want to believe._

_There's no reason to be afraid – I'm sure I won't get lost._

"Am I? Then why does your Soul Gem look like that?" Sayaka pointed at the poisoned gem on Cirno's breast, and the ice fairy turned away suddenly, hiding the Soul Gem.

"You're trying to trick me! I-it's fine! Eye'm sure it is!" Sayaka threw down her swords and dashed towards Cirno then, knocking the ice fairy down and pinning her. Her temper frayed, Sayaka grabbed Cirno by the shoulders and began shaking her.

"I'm _trying_ to save you from a fate worse than death, you idiot! The ones who did this to you didn't tell you the truth about the powers they oh-so-generously hand out and you need to know the truth before it's too late!" Tears flowed fresh from Sayaka's eyes, which meant she couldn't see that her words weren't getting through.

_My feelings will never change, even if my dreams are shattered.._

_I simply keep dreaming, over and over again._

"The one who says 'idiot' is the real idiot, idiot!" Cirno pitched Sayaka off and shot into the sky, wobbling as her magic waned. Sayaka shook her head in sadness, but stood up and sheathed her swords. "Come on, we need to get moving!" she called out.

"For what?" asked a puzzled Marisa.

"Because the real battle isn't over yet!"

"It is for you, I would say." A new voice came to the girls out of thin air, then the world itself split and broke open, and a figure stepped out of madness into the light. The woman was tall and handsome, but there was no warmth in her violet eyes, only a sharp coldness far more dangerous than anything Cirno could muster. A chagrined Reimu stood next to her, freed of her ice shackles.

"And who the hell are you?" asked Sayaka, fists on hips.

"My name is Yukari Yakumo, and I am here to clean up _this one's_ mistakes." Yukari shoved Reimu forward for emphasis. "Reimu my dear, what have you been doing? You've let your Shrine be destroyed, you've allied with worthless beings," here Yukari glanced at the Mansion itself in order to make her point. "And you've let the enemy run free within our borders." Here the Border Youkai glanced at the Puella Magi, and the Outside girls bristled under that gaze, for Yukari gave them all the consideration one might give to a rat in the pantry. "Really, I'm surprised. I expected you to be able to handle this Incident. Was I wrong to place my trust in you, Reimu?"

Reimu found herself bristling with anger at Yukari's opinion that the Scarlet Devil and her servants were "worthless beings". _I should kick your ass for that, Yukari, or maybe just hold you down and let Remi do it herself!_ "I have been handling the Incident as well as possible, given the circumstances. I have made alliances where I could to acquire valuable information and support. These girls-"

"These girls are the enemy, and I expect them to be removed, by _any_ means necessary," replied Yukari, her tone making clear what means she would prefer Reimu to use.

"Only if you toss the Moriya crew out first. By sundown preferably." replied Reimu, frosty anger in her voice.

"Reimu, this is not a time for you to be pursuing your petty jealousies!"

"Petty jealousies? Hah! Show me what speck of difference there is between Kanako and her offspring and these girls!"

"The difference is, I deem them a threat, and I expect them to be dealt with as such." replied Yukari, heat in her voice.

"So tell me this, who died and made you queen?" asked Sayaka, striding forward to challenge Yukari.

"Obviously Reimu_ has_ been remiss in her duties. You would not dare to ask that question if you knew the answer."

"Sorry, 'self-righteous bitches' wasn't included in my class schedule this term. Care to enlighten me?"

"I am Yukari Yakumo, the Youkai of the Border. In any space where there is a border between two conditions, I am there. I can change whether you are hot, or cold . . . here, or there . . . alive, or dead."

"Hah! Try it!" Sayaka closed the distance until she was an arm's length from the ancient Youkai. "I dare you!" Yukari's eyes narrowed, and Reimu started forward as she felt the unfathomable power rise up.

In 1300 years of existence, Yukari had learned many tricks and seen many surprises. She considered herself no fool, and she was on the look out for any unexpected twists of fate as she reached out to show this miserable Outsider the supreme folly of her actions, but what she was not expecting was for the Border of Life and Death to simply not _be there_ within Sayaka Miki. And Yukari was definitely not expecting for a fist to impact her face as she contemplated the situation. Yukari blinked and focused on the here and now just in time to take Sayaka's right hook on the cheek and be pitched completely off her feet. Pitched into an undignified heap, the Border Youkai reached into her extensive inventory of destructive powers in order to right this assault upon her ego, but then Reimu stepped between the two combatants.

"Now would be a singularly bad time to make enemies," whispered Reimu.

"Well, it's good to see that you still have _some_ basic understanding of decorum-" Yukari's reply was cut off when an ofuda _thunked_ into the paving stones right in front of her face, so close that it clipped off a lock of the Border Youkai's hair.

"I wasn't talking to _her_. You think yourself better than us, that somehow just being an old hag makes you more valuable than anyone else. Well _I _think actions speak louder than words, and I think that unless you are willing to pitch in and help, as an _equal_, not some self-appointed deity, you can get lost. Those of us who are actually working for Gensokyo's future have no desire to follow the directions of someone who isn't willing to do the same."

Yukari went livid with anger as she stood up. A Spellcard sprung to her fingers, and the words to invoke a duel were upon her lips. Sayaka stood before her, swords drawn, and Kyōko stood beside her, scorpion spear loose and ready to strike. And next to _her_ stood Marisa, her witch's hat pulled low so that only a teeth-baring snarl could be seen, and her Hakkero growled with power. Mami plucked two muskets out of a forest of weapons and aimed them. Alice worked her puppeteering strings, and an army of dolls rose. Hitomi raised her axe for an executioner's chop. Koakuma held open a tome for Patchouli so that she could sling destruction two-handed without pause. Madoka raised her bow, arrow aimed straight for Yukari's heart. And Reimu . . . Yukari finally balked when she saw what Reimu held.

In a perverse sort of lazyness, Reimu took to making copies of her opponents' Spellcards, the better to study and defeat the powers she might have to face. Unlike Marisa, who actually tried to understand the spells used against her in order to learn and grow, Reimu did it to remove the element of surprise. And now the Hakurei shrine maiden used her power as the arbiter of the Spellcard system to go one step further. Yukari had been the one to draft the Youkai's Contract which became the basis of the Spellcard rules, and as such, she could read the magic used to write the cards Reimu held, plain as day. _Secret Barrage ~ And Then There Will Be None?, Shikigami's Shot ~ Ultimate Buddhist, Hourai "South Wind, Clear Sky ~Fujiyama Volcano~", Scourge Sign ~ Mishaguchi-sama, Symbol "Danmaku Paranoia"._ In one draw, Reimu held enough power to cast down the Heavens themselves, and then there was the look on the shrine maiden's face. Yukari realized she had maybe three seconds to act before Reimu vented her wrath upon the Border Youkai, and while the Hakurei shrine maiden herself was uncomfortable with killing, Yukari doubted right now that she would even raise a hand to slow any of the other girls from finishing her off. Discretion became the better part of valor for Yukari, and she opened a gap to whisk herself away from the battle . . . or tried to.

Yukari turned back with the first icy touches of fear upon her heart to see Reimu clutching the Yin-Yang Orb in her other hand, tendons straining as she controlled the immense power flowing through the artifact. "If that's how it's going to be . . ." said Reimu, her eyes blazing with anger and her voice strained as she contested her strength against the most powerful Youkai in all of Gensokyo. "You can- walk- the- _fuck-_ home!"

* * *

Minutes after the Border Youkai left, the Gensokyans were still not sure if they dared believe what had happened when Remilia showed up with Rumia, Wriggle and Daiyousei in tow. Without preamble the vampire girl went up to Reimu and hugged her. "Is everything okay, Reimu?" asked Remilia after breaking off, all seriousness for the moment.

"Well, not really. We just beat up Cirno and Yukari, Utusho ran off angry, and the Outsiders seem to have acquired yet more trouble."

"Oh, is that all?" replied Remilia, slipping back into her haughty and sarcastic persona. "Chin up, no use crying over such trivial inconveniences, is there?"

"No, I don't suppose there is," said Reimu, going along with the gag. _Either I'm going to kill her, or I'm beginning to like her . . ._ "Say, what's up with the Nineballs?" Reimu angled a thumb at where Rumia and Daiyousei stood off to one side, each trying to disappear into the other's shadow.

"W-w-we, um . . ." Daiyousei looked like she was about to have a heart attack just trying to speak in the presence of some of Gensokyo's most destructive people. Rumia sighed and shoved the fairy aside.

"Sorry Dai, but I don't think they'll wait all night for an explanation. To uh, put it bluntly, Cirno's further out of her mind than usual, and I don't want to get splatted just because she can't control herself. I dunno what that magic jewel is doing to her, but it scares the hell outta me!" The Puella Magi shared a look of concern; with the way the fight had been going, Cirno had to be close to the breaking point by now.

"I have agreed to grant them asylum here at the Mansion, for what such sanctuary is worth. I would suggest, if you have a solution to our numerologically-challenged friend's problem, you implement it at the soonest possible juncture."

"Yeah, but right now I need everybody who is willing to fight, and I need you to come with me to the Outside." Sayaka stared off into space as she spoke.

"What's wrong, Sayaka-chan?" Madoka approached her friend, drawn by the brittle pain in the blunette's voice.

"The Purifiers are up to something again. Something bad. We need to put them down, for good this time, before-" Sayaka choked up for a moment, and then shook her head emphatically. "Before anything else goes wrong." Reimu nodded agreement and began handing out flight charms. Sakuya appeared from inside the Mansion, having gotten Meiling settled into a bed to recuperate from her injuries, a task made possible only because of the gate guardian's continued unconsciousness.

"Aha! Sakuya, I was just about to send for you. Would you escort these ladies to guest rooms? Seeing as their beloved boss has lost her marble, they have applied for sanctuary, which I have granted."

"Of course," replied Sakuya, who let none of her actual opinion on actually letting three Nineballs inside the Mansion register in her tone of voice. "May I ask where you intend to go at this time, Mistress?"

"I'm going with Reimu and the Outsiders, of course!"

"I cannot agree to this course of action, Mistress. It is both foolhardy and dangerous, and none of our concern, besides!"

"None of our concern? Through the machinations of these monsters, mine household has been attacked, and one of mine employees whom I love and cherish has been injured. The only thing which will stay me from _ripping out their hearts_ and nailing them to the front gate as a warning to the wicked and foolish is if one of their other victims beats me to the punch!"

"I see. In that case, I must insist on accompanying you."

"Sakuya, I am entirely capable of taking care of myself you know." Remilia spread a grin full of fangs and stretched her hand to the sky, whereupon Gungir appeared in her hand with a crack of lightning. Then the vampire girl intertwined her free arm with Reimu's, much to the shrine maiden's consternation. "Besides, dear Reimu here would never let me come to harm."

"I am aware of your capabilities Mistress, as well as the Hakurei's. However, I too wish to see some of these fiends die horribly by my own hand."

"Ah, very well, I suppose I can save you a few to slay, Sakuya. Come then, let's be off!" Buoyed by Remilia's confidence, the girls took to the air, but in their haste to make for the Hakurei Shrine and the gate there, no one noticed that not one, but two of their number broke away from the main flight on errands of their own.

* * *

"What should I do? What should I do! I don't know! I need somebody to help me figure out what I need to do . . . I should ask Orin! Oh wait, she's the problem, I can't ask her. I'm mad at her! What should I do?" Utsuho became increasingly panicked as she flew aimlessly over the wilds of Gensokyo. To _want_ independence was one thing; to suddenly be _forced_ to be independent was something to test the mettle of even the sturdiest soul, and for Utsuho, it was quite a shock.

"That's it! That Incubator guy offered me a wish, I'll see if I can find another one and wish for the right answer. But, oh yeah, Orin said they're bad guys. But I'm mad at Orin! Well, a wish is magic, right? It'll make everything work right in the end!" With her decision made, the hell raven swooped down to treetop level and began to search for her answer.

* * *

_May the gods forgive me for what I am about to do . . ._ Mami drew out a musket and begin to line up a shot. Though she was a scant 20 meters away, Cirno was oblivious to the doom which stalked her. Indeed, the ice fairy seemed oblivious to the world in general, as she stumbled through the wilds. Thick, oily streams of corruption swirled through her Soul Gem, and her lurching gate and lack of awareness reminded Mami of Kyōko's description of Sayaka at the end. A tear leaked from Mami's eye as she sighted in upon Cirno's Soul Gem.

"Look out!" A shout rang out from above and Mami found her weapon suddenly wrenched from her grasp by a wire wrapped around the barrel. The shot boomed out harmlessly into the trees, and the sight of a Puella Magi so close to her caused Cirno to yelp in fright, to which she drew out her broadsword and began to shuffle away, deeper into the forest. Charlotte landed five paces from Mami, her arms spread to block the way of her fellow Puella Magi.

"Charlotte-san, please get out of the way." Mami calmly summoned up another musket.

"Why?"

"Because she's sick, and much as I don't want to-"

"Then don't! Why not heal her, like with Sayaka?"

"Unlike Sayaka, we can't trust her. It would be dangerous to bring her into the link." Charlotte's eyes went wide with anger. The peach-haired girl reached over and pulled back her right sleeve to reveal the bracelet carrying her Soul Gem.

"Then you better shoot me too! I'm not one of your original group, I'm different too, so I must also be dangerous!"

"Charlotte-san, please do not be foolish. This is hard enough already, without your interference." Charlotte went pale for a moment, but then her face crashed down into a grimace of anger.

"So, I am 'foolish' for not condoning cold-blooded murder, and it's 'interference' for keeping you from doing something I know you'll regret later? Mami, I apologize, but if that's what you actually think, you truly deserve every bit of what you're gonna get." Charlotte shook her sleeve down and let her yo-yo drop free on a meter of line. Mami narrowed her eyes and drew out a second musket as the topaz-headed weapon began whirling in place.

"I don't want to hurt you. Please, stop this at once, Charlotte-san!"

"How 'bout you worry about not _getting_ hurt! I'm not a kid, and don't think I'm just gonna let you spank me and send me to bed early without dinner because I won't let you get away with being so cruel!" Hot fury shot through Mami's veins at Charlotte's accusations, and she raised her guns to bear.

"You claim not to be a child, but then you perform this childish action. If you insist on fighting, then make your attack, or else get out of my way so I can do what must be done."

"You asked for it!" While still spinning her yo-yo, Charlotte snapped out her left hand and launched her first strike- a fat chocolate cake roll, bulging almost to exploding with frosting, leaped from the open sleeve. The end of the roll was capped with frosting which bore a goofy "face" done in icing and sprinkles, and while the image was rough, it was enough to cause Mami to have flashbacks to the _last_ time she fought Charlotte, and horror paralyzed the blonde Puella Magi for just a moment. Charlotte's yo-yo lashed about Mami's ankles and dropped her to the ground, and then when the cake-monster was over Mami's head, it exploded, covering her in icing which flowed like oil and stuck like cement. As soon as the cake had exploded, Charlotte pulled back her weapon and turned upon her heel, sprinting off in the direction which she had last seen Cirno heading.

As she rushed through the wild undergrowth in search of her target, Charlotte dispelled her costume and contemplated the rich orange light of her Soul Gem. The little device hummed with power, as strong as it had ever been thanks to the wish Sayaka had made. Charlotte didn't really understand how the empathic link worked or how exactly she was supposed to convince her Soul Gem to heal another Puella Magi's own, but the peach-haired girl didn't give weight to those concerns. _If Kyōko can manage it, it can't be _that_ hard!_

Cirno was drifting though the wilds in a daze of pain. _All Eye wanted was to be strong! Strong enough so they would stop hurting me whenever they felt like! Strong so the gang could look up to me, so they could be safe! Why must it always turn out like this?_ A loud noise rang out behind her, and when Cirno turned, she realized it was a shout, and the girl doing the shouting was that orange-hair who beat her up in the Outside world! Cirno cried out in panic and struck out wildly.

Charlotte gritted her teeth and pressed forward, reaching out to touch her Soul Gem to the sickened lump upon Cirno's chest, and when the two surfaces made contact a scream was ripped from Charlotte's throat- for all that she was silly, foolish, and considered a pushover by the "big names" in Gensokyo, Cirno's determination and the sheer length of her struggle meant that there was an enormous amount of energy for the Incubators to harvest, which in turn made her Soul Gem "deeper" than Charlotte's own. The peach-haired Puella Magi had enough energy available to stabilize the ice fairy, but it left her with only a small reserve for herself. _Oh, that might be a problem . . ._ thought Charlotte as she considered her condition.

For Cirno, the effect was even more profound. As Sun-Tsu set forth in the Art of War, "If you know your enemy and you know yourself, in a thousand battles you will not know defeat." Cirno's wish had permitted her to know her "enemies", and now with the empathic link and Charlotte's own sense for the needs of others, Cirno was getting to know herself, the new "self" she had become when she made her contract._ Oh, my gods, what have Eye become?_

"What'd you do that for! Why d-did . . . why would you risk yourself for me?" Cirno looked at Charlotte with wide, frightened eyes.

"T-that's what it means, to be a friend, I guess." Charlotte smiled, before slumping on to Cirno's shoulder.

"But w-we _can't_ be friends! People who say they're 'friends' always run away when it starts to get scary or they get hurt, and then Eye'm all alone again! I don't want any more 'friends'!"

"Don't say that! Nobody should have to live alone! And don't worry about me, okay? It d-doesn't hurt at all," Charlotte's voice was breathy and soft by the time she finished speaking. The peach-haired girl put a hand upon the ice broadsword where it was stuck through her torso and tried to push it out, but she was unable to muster the strength. Pressure on the weapon reminded Cirno that it was there, and she dispelled the deadly sword with a gesture, but that still left a terrible hole in Charlotte's side, leaking blood.

"You liar! What kind of person lies to a friend? You're just going to go away, like everyone else does!" Cirno closed her eyes, as though that could erase the hideous wound she had accidentally inflicted upon Charlotte when the peach-haired girl leaped forward to make the contact. There was a soft patter-patter of ice crystals upon the ground as tears leaked from the ice fairy's eyes, froze, and fell off her face.

"I'm sorry, Cirno. I just couldn't let you fall alone. Nobody should have to go through that. And I guess I'm a bad person, because I have to ask something horrible." Charlotte opened her hand to reveal her Soul Gem, already dark and turning browner by the minute as her body devoured the energy within in a vain attempt to heal her injuries. "Y-you know what happens, when a Puella Magi exhausts her Soul Gem?"

"She becomes a monster, you call it a Witch." At that moment, Cirno cursed the knowledge which she had been gifted.

"P-p-please," said Charlotte, motioning to her Soul Gem. "I w-was a Witch once. I don't ever want to have that happen again." Cirno looked to the gem, then back to Charlotte's pale face as the realization kicked in.

"No! Eye won't do it! Eye couldn't . . . "

"Then, get up. Run away. Please. I know how weak you are right now, you're not strong enough to survive, when _she_ comes out." Cirno shook her head, trying to deny the ways of Fate, and throwing frozen tears everywhere. Hearing the tinkling sound, however, jogged Cirno's memory- and she reached deep inside, past the powers which had been grafted on to her by the wish and into the enchantments which were hers by nature as an ice fairy. A smile took over Cirno's face as she stood, a halo of pure cold condensing around her hands.

"This'll either work, or it won't, okay?" So saying, Cirno reached out and placed Charlotte into a perfect freeze. Like the frogs Cirno loved to torment, the peach-haired girl was now in a state of suspended animation, but the blank look frozen upon Charlotte's face looked too much like the empty eyes of a corpse, and seeing them caused Cirno to break down and start bawling again.

The keening sound attracted attention, but Cirno didn't notice the flapping of wings until something thumped down behind her. Cirno snapped around in fright and found herself looking into a huge, burning red eye.

"Yahhh!" Cirno fell ass-over-grass as she scrambled to get away from the Eye of Terror looming above her.

"Unyu?" came a curious reply. Utusho bent down to see what was making all the noise, which only increased Cirno's terror as she caught sight of who was standing over her. "You!" Utusho's benign curiosity was replaced with hard anger as she recognized the ice fairy, and her Third Leg swung in line with Cirno's head.

"Please don't kill me!" cried the ice fairy, holding up her hands in a vain effort to ward off an attack. Utsuho snarled, but didn't pull the trigger.

"Why shouldn't I? After all the bad things you've done . . . "

"Because," Cirno gestured at where Charlotte was still frozen in place. "Eye've gotta save her! Do whatever you like later, just help me make her better, please!"

"Hey, it's one of those Pulley-Magic girls!" Utsuho bent down to inspect the frozen figure. "But, wait, what happened to her?"

"When I made the wish, the Kyubey-thing didn't tell me how it really worked. See, when you wish, you get one of these," Cirno fingered her Soul Gem. "And it starts out really bright and it's full of magic and you can use it to do whatever you want and it's really neat! But, the more you use it and every time you get beat up, it gets darker. And when it goes all black . . . it takes you over and makes you into a monster, and you start destroying everything around you. Eye didn't know it did that, but Charlotte found me and cleaned mine so it wouldn't happen. But she got hurt in the process, and now she's dying! I need one of their Grief Seeds to clean her Soul Gem up or she'll become a monster too!"

"But, that's horrible! Why would the Incubator people let anybody have something so dangerous?"

"Because that's the point, bird-brain! They _want_ people to get hurt and be scared! It's what they feed on, and because when things get scary and dangerous, idiots like me will fall for their trap and become monsters too. Damnit!" Cirno cursed what fate had thrown her, but her audience was no longer listening.

"No . . . they couldn't!" Utusho ran a hand across the strange warm metal which composed her Third Leg. _"So, you're the strongest of the hell ravens, you say? Good, I have something for you. It's a gift. It will make you powerful. All you have to do is consume the corpse of that Yatagarasu. His power still lingers in the dead flesh, and it will make you like a god yourself . . ."_ The hell raven's eyes were wide open with shock, but she was seeing nothing of what was before her. _She made me into a monster! I made Rin and Satori-sama scared and worried for me, but they saved me. And I would've gone and done the same thing again, only worse!_ A word came to Utusho's lips, one she was told never to use, but she had heard Rin use a few times. It seemed appropriate in the situation. "_Chikuso!_ Those bastards! I can't believe they almost got me. . ." And then, the rage was gone out of Utsuho's heart, replaced by something far more dangerous. Cirno just watched, openmouthed, as what could only be called the Searing Divine Flame stalked away.

"Well, that was weird," Cirno snorted in disgust as she watched Utsuho leave. Then the ice fairy laid down upon Charlotte's ice block, letting her body chill keep the ice solid.

* * *

The party landed at Hakurei Shrine, but they weren't the first ones to arrive. Standing in the courtyard was a figure like unto a chiseled Roman statue of a god, if one could chisel a statue from midnight and lacquer it with nightmares. It was impossible to look directly upon the entity, and even in half-hidden glimpses it took on the aspect of the viewer's innermost fears.

"The Overseer . . . unbelievable!" Nova tightened her grip on her baton, every line of her body radiating terror and hate.

"Excellent, I see you still recognize me even after your . . . corruption. I shall enjoy dissecting your brain to figure out what made you defile yourself, Unit 952." The Overseer spoke with a voice like rock being crushed into dust.

"My name is Nova Floresca, you beast! Go rot!"

"When I get done with you, you will no longer have a name. You shall be known only as the damnation of this pathetic planet!"

"Wouldn't that be inefficient? I mean after all, I thought you said the whole reason you Incubators came here was to harvest energy. You wouldn't want to waste any more of your precious harvest, now would you?" Sayaka drew her sword as she spoke, her voice a rusty growl in the presence of the monstrosity who orchestrated all their pain.

"I should have expected that someone as naive and weak-minded as Unit 952 here would still believe such a pathetic excuse." The Overseer chuckled, sending tremors of fear out through the Puella Magi and Gensokyans alike. "Really though, why have power, if not to use it? An expenditure of energy equal to a week's total output of that star above us, the accumulation of so many of your worthless little lives consumed by your own despair, is such a _trivial_ cost in order to ensure that none live to tell the tale of this unconscionable challenge to my authority." Then the Overseer cocked his head, as though something had just come to him. "I recognize you, Sayaka Miki, and I must say I am surprised and impressed; I would have expected you to be prostrate with grief. I guess I just don't understand you Humans that well after all." Menacing laughter rolled through the fiend's voice as he spoke.

"Damn right you don't! I will burn incense for my father's memory on your ashes, or not at all!" The admission of the source of her grief sent ripples of shock through Sayaka's friends, but they remained as firm as they could in support.

"Oh, but I am afraid you won't be burning anything at all, not if my new friends have anything to say!" A wave of one fear-shrouded arm brought a congregation of monsters to the Overlord's side. One . . . two . . . five . . . ten . . . _seventeen_ Warlocks burst through the Border at their master's beckon, and the mood was bleak indeed amongst the girls.

"Ahh, beautiful, are they not? When I arrived, I was faced with a choice; I could either continue to coddle those worthless wastes of electromagnetic energy the Purifier Division sent, or I could make them into something useful." The Overseer pulled something out of nowhere; a Grief Seed, all wicked and spiky, which he then tossed into his mouth and crunched down upon. A long speartip tongue licked out with a gourmand's delight. "Ahh, Unit 5206, such a valiant soul. You know hope is such a strange thing; it makes you little girls into monsters, and it can make a veteran Purifier who knows better, and _knows_ that it knows better, sit patiently while I dismember it a joint at a time to make Sorrow Grafts, because it still clings to the vain hope it was given that there would be salvation at the end. And I suppose there was; where once there was a single disappointment, now there are many loyal subjects ready to serve."

"(okay, wha'd'we do? I like a big fight as much as the next girl, but this is a bit crazy, ze.)" Marisa muttered as she surveyed the opposition. Being outnumbered by Warlocks was not exactly the magician's cup of tea, and then there was Sayaka, who looked ready to snap, one way or the other. _I suppose I can't blame her,_ thought Marisa. _But that doesn't really help us._

Kyōko clamped her free hand down on Sayaka's shoulder. _Don't do it. You know your father wouldn't want to see you join him that way._ The redhead shook her head as her love fought her grip. "We're gonna need a miracle to clear this one."

And then a flaming comet fell from the sky and delivered something that didn't much resemble a miracle at all. "Are you with the Incubators?" asked Utusho as she bore in on the nearest Warlock with bloodshot eyes.

"Oh ho, what is this? A poor, twisted creature, deformed by inferior magic and nursed on lies? Whatever hold they have upon you to cause you to fight and die for them, I assure you I can break it, and gift upon you wealth and power such as you have never dreamed of."

"I fight because I have seen how you poison and hurt innocent people for your own gain. And _you_ are the only one dying here today!" fire engulfed the Overseer's head at the hell raven's command, but when the flames blew out the archfiend appeared no worse for wear.

"I see. You, go and discipline her." The Overseer waved a Warlock forward, anger in his voice for the first time.

BGM: Taku Iwasaki - Gurren Lagann Best Sound - "Libera Me From Hell"

A lance of flame cut the ground at Marisa's feet as she surged forward. "_My _kill," whispered Utsuho, and the sound of her voice was enough to set the blonde magician backpedaling. With a maniacal grin pasted upon his face the Warlock charged forward, butchering talons extended and a latticework armor of black iron spread out from his Sorrow Graft. Utsuho waited with a calm that would have shocked Rin to see; even while working the Reactor Utusho bobbed and twitched with childlike hyperactivity, but now the hell raven was encased in a state of lethal tranquility.

And then, as soon as the Warlock crossed an invisible line in Utsuho's mind, she reacted, snapping her right leg up in a roundhouse kick with speed that would have made Meiling jealous. Around that leg was Utsuho's "elephant's foot", an icon of the terrible power she wielded; most importantly, the encasing mass was _corium_, an amalgamation of the dead heart of a nuclear reactor, and it weighed 15 kilos. The Warlock's armor, indeed his entire ribcage shattered like plate glass when Utsuho's kick connected. Then she flicked out her own talons, a remnant of her hell-raven heritage and disemboweled the Warlock, and she wrapped the entrails around her prey's throat in a garrote and kicked the monstrosity back to die at the Overseer's feet. For a moment, there was only silence, aside from the Warlock's death rattle, then the Overseer pointed at Utsuho and shouted for his other minions to attack.

No one would accuse Utsuho of being a master tactician, but even she could tell her position was not good. Yet Utsuho wasn't concerned in the slightest about the situation, but only because her opinion of the matter was, _I don't want to live in a world where there can be such cruelty. Either they die, or I do!_ Utsuho stood stern as the Warlocks rushed in, raised her Third Leg, and let the aperture open. A grim smile crossed the hell raven's lips as she watched another of the monstrosities slowly vaporize as she held the hot neutron beam upon it. Next she accepted a blood-welling slash from a third Warlock's talons as it launched itself upon her and in return Utsuho slammed her fist into the Warlock's side, throwing it off-balance for a moment. The stumble gave Utsuho the time to alter the output of her Third Leg, producing a blade of atomic fire which cleaved the Warlock in half when she brought the blade down upon the monster.

Utsuho paused then, letting her weapon arm fall to her side. There were still 14 of the Warlocks remaining, and they were all coming on together. Utsuho couldn't imagine anyone defeating such a force alone, but she would be content with just _destroying_ them. A warning klaxon blared out, and the Third Leg unlocked, releasing Utsuho's Spellcards for use.

Although the hell raven wasn't aware of it, she was not fighting alone. Despite Utsuho's warning, none of the other girls were willing to just stand by and watch her get slaughtered. First into the fray was Sakuya- or so she thought. When a voice called out "hold up" within the limitless silence of ceased time, Sakuya almost panicked. She did however hurl a knife toward the voice, letting a few nanoseconds slip through her fingers to propel the weapon along. Homura simply pinched the knife between two fingers and guided it aside. "I merely wished to suggest that we coordinate our efforts for maximal effect."

"I . . . see. I had not expected to see you return to using 'crude and amateurish' tactics, however."

"Neither had I." Homura drew out a Beretta from a distressingly small stockpile of weapons within her timer and took aim. Spending her shots like a miser, the black-haired girl arranged for five Warlocks to receive a gift when time was permitted to flow once more, and Sakuya blanketed the other side of the group with a heavy fan of knives. Time returned to its' customary progress and the assault was broken up by the sudden appearance of projectiles amongst the Warlocks, but still the hell raven stood in the middle of the field, and still some of the monstrosities reached for her.

A wall of spears gave voice to an ugly metallic shriek as the claws which would have torn Utsuho's head from her shoulders were balked by the barricade. Kyōko snared the legs of one of the Warlocks put off by the barrier and whipped him around into the line of fire. Madoka and Marisa obliged the redhead and blasted her prey. The blonde magician was panting with a mixture of excitement and effort when the skewered-and-roasted corpse finally thumped down.

"Are you crazy? Are you trying to get killed?!" Kyōko looked a startled Utsuho in the eye as the Puella Magi battered back another Warlock with furious flashes of chain. Besides Kyōko, Hitomi, Sayaka, Alice and Sakuya formed a skirmish line and were keeping the Warlocks somewhat corralled. Despite their augmented powers the mortal frames of the Warlocks were still criminal scum, the same lot of fools who had been arrested as part of Homura's deal, in fact, and they did not take to opposition well.

"Uhh . . ?" Utsuho wasn't sure how to respond, now that others had joined the fight.

"Don't just throw your life away, Reiuji-san! You know your friends would miss you!" Madoka stood beside Utsuho and fired off shot after shot, driving the Warlocks away so Kyōko could release her barrier.

"But . . . what about Charlotte and Cirno and everybody else who gets hurt? Don't they have friends too? Who's going to come save them?" Bereft of her anger Utsuho seemed to visibly wilt, even as the fight continued around them. And then one of the Warlocks pulled a new trick; his mouth and hands peeled open to reveal inky black gemstones which then spewed out filthy bolts of corruption in a horizontal rain.

Sudden flashes of color filled the space between Utsuho and the girls tending to her and the deadly rain, sweeping away the attack and unbalancing the Warlock himself. Ofuda struck the Warlock as stinging blades, rending flesh and sealing shut the horrible beam weapons. Reimu stepped in front of Utsuho and set the Yin-Yang Orb free, and the relic divided into four smaller spheres which surrounded the shrine maiden, spinning and whirling to ward off any attack as she struck out to slay her target.

"There's your answer," said Marisa, clapping Utsuho on the shoulder while at the same time unleashing a shower of stars over Reimu's path to keep the enemies away while the shrine maiden did her work. "She doesn't fight for wealth, or glory, or even for the pleasure of fighting. Reimu fights so that everyone will have a tomorrow, even if it means she will end up fighting them over and over. There are certainly worse ways to live, ze." Utusho nodded as she absorbed the words, and the fond feelings behind those words. The hell raven looked up at Reimu with new understanding and adoration for the shrine maiden . . . and then screamed.

The Warlocks were retreating and while the Overseer waited for his minions to leave he reached out to give the girls of Gensokyo a parting gift. Whip-coils of lightning shot from the apex monster's fingertips, reaching out to destroy Reimu Hakurei. The shrine maiden was still busy finishing off the Warlock she had sealed, and so didn't notice the attack until a moment too late. Reimu reflexively drove an ofuda into her opponent's skull and ignited it, slaying the distraction as her other hand dipped into her belt for her reserve Spellcards, but she knew it would be too late as the killing energy spilled from the Overseer's fingers.

A heavy impact blew Reimu clear off her feet and sent her skidding along the paving stones. She looked up to see Utsuho standing where Reimu had been a moment ago, her Third Leg jammed into the ground and her body caged in arcs of lightning. Utsuho had triggered her "Self Tokamak" Spellcard, but true to her _idiot savant_ nature, the hell raven had bent the spell to an entirely new purpose; this version inverted the Tokamak's magnetic field to attract the Overseer's lightning. Now they were linked and neither Utsuho nor the Overseer could escape, unless the Overseer broke off his attack . . . or Utusho was destroyed by the energy coursing through her. Chuckles of malicious mirth spilled from the Overseer's mouth as he raised his other hand to unleash even more lightning, and the stink of smoldering feathers began to permeate the air.

Salvation appeared in the form of a tiny creeping vine. Thin shoots wrapped around Utsuho's legs and the Third Leg and suddenly blossomed, releasing a pleasant sent of roses to chase away the burnt-feather stench, and the hell raven felt herself suffused with a comforting warmth. Behind Utsuho, Madoka stood with her staff planted in the ground, but the look on the pink-haired girl's face was as cold and hard with anger as anyone had ever seen, and she glared straight at the Overseer. _Only Madoka would use a spell of healing as her weapon,_ mused Homura as she watched. Then Kyōko came up beside Madoka and pressed a hand to the smaller girl's chest, and Homura felt an angry surge of jealousy run through her, but only until she noticed the ruby glow in the redhead's hand. Sayaka came up on the other side of Madoka and added the light of her Soul Gem as well. Homura refrained from joining in, but instead readied her hourglass, in case the Overseer had any more tricks to play. For the moment, the fiend seemed content with digging in his heels and trying to force more energy into the assault. A low growl escaped the Overseer's lips, and the shadow-stuff of his hands began to blister and boil.

The light dimmed over the Shrine, as though evening had decided to come early. "You have made another _terrible_ mistake," came a sinister voice from nowhere and everywhere at once. Smoke the color of fresh-spilled blood began to pile up around the edges of the courtyard. A bat-winged shape eclipsed the sun, and all that those on the ground could see of the figure herself was a pair of red eyes alight with hatred. "I did not give you _permission_ to harm Reimu, and now you will _suffer _for it. _DIE!_" shouted Remilia as she released Gungir to strike down upon the Overseer in a crimson streak. The lightning spear landed with a thunderous _BOOM_ which shook the whole courtyard, and when the vapors cleared, it was revealed that the Overseer had in fact managed to escape the attack, but barely.

"This changes nothing! I will tear your world apart!" shouted the archfiend, shaking one smoldering stump of a wrist at the girls before fading away into shadow.

* * *

"Yahoo! Christmas came early!" ever the practical, Kyōko was enthusiastically sweeping up the treasures left behind from the Warlocks who had been killed. "Look at all the Grief Seeds! I'm rich!"

"I'm sure you meant to say 'we're rich' there Kyōko. Must've been a slip of the tongue," replied Sayaka with heavy sarcasm.

"Oh, uh, yeah, sure!" was Kyōko's reply, but then the redhead was startled when Utsuho staggered up to her, hand outstretched.

"Those are Grief Seeds? I need one!"

"Uh, pardon?" replied Kyōko, confusion on her face.

"Cirno told me how they work. She said the orange-haired girl got hurt and needs one. I know where they are! C'mon, please!" the hell raven tried to snatch one of the iron trinkets from Kyōko's hand and take off flying at the same time, but frazzled as she was from the Overseer's assault, it became more of a windmilling fall.

"Wait, Cirno? Charlotte?! What the hell is going on here? And where's Mami!" Sayaka stamped a foot in frustration. "Damnit! Can this day get any worse?"

"Oh, I would imagine so," replied Alice with a sigh. The puppeteer pointed skyward, where three figures were flying towards the Shrine. As the newcomers angled down to land, the afternoon light revealed them to be Byakuren, Satori, and Sanae.

"While I appreciate your efforts, Reiuji-san, I now think it might have been better if that fiend had just killed me," mused Reimu as she looked up at the trio.

"Yeah, I know what you mean," replied Utsuho, as she looked up at the stern expression on Satori's face.

* * *

A/N: Wow, 10.2k words, without having to resort padding it out with a PuellaDex entry at the end. Hopefully it's worth the wait!


	9. Calamity Cross

**Episode 9 : Calamity Cross**

"I didn't do it!" exclaimed Marisa as she saw the figures descending from above. "Really, I didn't, ze!"

"We believe you, Marisa," replied Alice with a look of deadly sarcasm. "They didn't come in shooting, so obviously they weren't here for you."

"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence." Marisa crossed her arms and tried to pout, but failed miserably.

"Look, I don't care who wants to shoot at who, I just need the portal opened. Reimu, if you would please?" Sayaka was almost frantic as she looked about the wreckage of the courtyard. _Madoka, Homura, as soon as the portal is open, I need you to go through, okay?_

_What's wrong, Sayaka-chan? _Madoka turned a worried expression on Sayaka, which was enough to nearly make the blunette explode. After gnashing her teeth and stamping her feet, Sayaka was able to calm down enough to make a proper reply rather than exploding in anger in front of everyone.

_The bad guys just killed my dad to try to get to me! Who do you think they're going to try for next, the Queen of England?_ The portal opened with a growl, even as Byakuren, Satori, and Sanae landed before Reimu. _You need to make sure your parents are safe, okay?_ Madoka nodded in response to the unspoken words, and headed towards the portal, with Homura in tow. Alice glanced from the one Puella Magi to the other and made a quick calculation, then grabbed Marisa's sleeve and pulled her towards the portal as well.

"Where do you think you're going? (Hey, that's my line, ze!)" Sanae and Marisa both registered disapproval at Alice's heading for the portal, followed by a look of mutual irritation at the other for having spoken at the same time.

"They're going where they need to be. You got a problem with that?" replied Sayaka, hands on her hips.

"What if I do?" was Sanae's reply, and the shrine maiden adopted the hands-on-hips motion as well.

"Well, since I already punched out this chick who called herself Yukari Yakumo as though that was supposed to mean something, and I'm gonna have to use extra soap to wash all the stupid off my hands," Sayaka balled up her fists and took a fighting stance as she spoke. "I guess I'll just have to knock you down too!"

"Why, y-you, you fiend! How dare you speak of Yukari-sama that way!" Sanae balled her fists as well and leaned in, ready for battle. Reimu pinched the bridge of her nose and waited to see if either the headache would pass or the blue and green would manage _not _to get into a fight. When neither happened, Reimu waved the other girls through the portal and approached the would-be combatants. Sanae and Sayaka were both bristling and nearly growling with anger. _First thing I do after getting the Shrine rebuilt, I'm gonna promote Mima to godhood. I need a patron deity who answers prayers and loves vengeance._ Reimu tucked the thought away for later and settled for observing the situation with a placid expression on her face- right up until both girls got a little too into their confrontation, at which point the Hakurei shrine maiden cupped the back of both girls' heads and clonked their skulls together.

"Funny, I don't see Rin or Shou anywhere," said Reimu in a tone of voice as black as her mood. "So there shouldn't be any cat fights, now should there?" To make her point plain, the shrine maiden nodded her two captives' heads for them, rocking the girls up and down until they agreed, albeit sullenly. "Good. Now Sayaka, why don't you and your friends find Cirno and the missing girl, and Sanae, why don't you explain to me what in Shinki's name is going on here?"

"A moment, please," said Satori, hand held up to forestall any sudden departures. "I need to speak with my pet, and she plans on going with the Outside team." The ruler of the Former Hell of Blazing Fires turned to address Utsuho. "You wish to apologize for your rash actions at the Reactor and since coming to the Aboveground. While I cannot speak for the Scarlet Devil Mansion, I would suspect your actions there was not even the most outrageous outburst of the past month." Satori's deadpan assessment of goings-on in the Mansion drew a giggle from Utsuho, and Remilia herself. "I would accept your apology, Utsuho-san, but only if you will accept my apology as well. I have taken you for granted, and for that I feel ashamed. Will you forgive me?"

"Yeah! Of course! I just got a bit carried away by what that Incubator guy said to me, but I'm better now. Did you know the Incubators are evil?"

"I did indeed." Satori had a hint of a smile on her face as she replied.

"Oh, duh! Right! You can hear what people are thinking! I forgot." Utsuho smacked her Third Leg into the palm of her flesh hand as she remembered something else about the day, then winced slightly and shook out her stinging fingers. "Uh, I know I'm probably grounded for being bad and running off, but can I stay up here just a bit longer? I need to make sure somebody gets something she need."

"I will let you stay as long as you like, but only if you tell me what you have learned from this experience."

"Umm . . . sometimes even cute fluffy creatures are bad guys!"

"Indeed, and anything else?" Satori favored Utsuho with an indulgent smile.

"Oh! Don't run away from your friends, even when you're mad at them, because sometimes they're still the people you need."

"I see. You have learned well from this experience. Very well, go and do what you need to do, just promise that you will check in with me or Rin if you're going to be out overnight, and don't irradiate anyone unless they truly deserve it."

"Thanks, Satori!" And so saying, Utusho shot off on her errand, but she only got about ten meters before braking hard in the air and returning to the ground. "Oh yeah, I still need the Brief Seed thingy. May I borrow one?" the hell raven turned to Sayaka and Kyōko.

"Hell, why don't we come along? I'd be interested to see what Peachie got herself into this time." Sayaka looked on the verge of protesting, but Kyoko wrapped an arm around her waist and guided her over to Utsuho. _C'mon Blueberry, I know it hurts, believe me._ Sayaka felt a momentary twinge as she heard Kyoko's "voice" and remembered how the redhead had lost her own father. _But if you grind your teeth any harder, you're gonna need dentures. Let's go find some small woodland creature to beat into a paste or something while we look for Peachie and the Icicle._

_Isn't that a little, er, cruel and arbitrary?_ sent Sayaka in reply, to which a malicious grin spread across Kyoko's face. _Not if they shoot first, then it's fair game!_ Sayaka cracked up, further confusing Utsuho, and Kyoko's spear suddenly snaked out in segments and wrapped around Nova, whose reply was best described as "!", then the girls set off in approximately the right direction. After a moment, Hitomi blanched and set off to follow them, feeling a bit annoyed and relieved both that Kyoko hadn't decided to forcibly enlist her in the search as she had Nova.

As the rescue party left, Satori turned back to Reimu and frowned. "I understand your concerns about Utsuho, given her past, but it is prejudicial of you to assume that permitting her to go out unchaperoned will lead to 'redrawing the maps to keep people out of the places which have been glassed' as you put it; furthermore, it is difficult _not_ to read your mind when you are broadcasting your thoughts so strongly, and-" A flush of crimson crept up Satori's face as she parsed the images she was receiving. "While I understand that today has been most difficult, imagining me engaged in incestuous acts is an exceptionally low blow." And then a bit of a smile crept onto Satori's face, with just a hit of feline deviousness. "Besides, Koishi and I prefer things the other way around."

"_WHAT_?!" cried Reimu as she parsed the implications of what Satori had said.

"I believe the term is 'turnabout is fair play'. Now, shall we get down to business?"

"Uh, yeah, sure," replied Reimu, who was still looking a bit green. "What _is_ the business, anyway?"

"That's my cue," stated Byakuren. "I was visited a little while ago by Yukari, who was in a frightful mood, and bringing a very abnormal proposal to my attention; she was looking for someone in whom to invest as the new Border guardian, claiming that you had abdicated your duties and needed to be removed."

"That bitch! I should have let Sayaka hit her a few more times before sending her packing!"

"Would you mind filling us in on what did happen?" Reimu sighed and began recounting the events of the afternoon.

". . . and so then I said if being mean to Outsiders is now the policy, let's kick the freaking Moriya crew out first-"

"Wh-a-a-t?! You bitch, how dare you!" Sanae practically exploded at Reimu, who began petting her Yin-Yang Orb and sizing up her rival's face for target practice.

"Hey, shut up for a minute! I don't want to kick you out, I don't have the time to waste, I just wanted to get Yukari to admit her double standard out loud so I could hang it over her head!" Reimu fired back, keeping her hands on the Yin-Yang Orb instead of wrapping them around the green-haired shrine maiden's throat. "Actually, why the hell are you here, anyway?"

"Yukari contacted me as well, about the border job, and I came here to see what's happening." Sanae didn't notice or didn't care about the angry twitch in Reimu's eye as she spoke. "I know we've never exactly been friends, but I have to say, are you in too deep on this one Reimu? I mean, your shrine got blown up, _again_, and that wasn't even from the main part of the problem-"

A shriek of anger cut Sanae off, and then the Moriya shrine maiden was diving for the pavement as Reimu hurled the Yin-Yang Orb at her head.

"You want my job? Well there, you can have it, and I hope you choke on it!" Reimu shot off into the air, leaving a trail of profanity behind. Moments later, when the shock wore off, Remilia took off like the proverbial bat out of hell after Reimu. Byakuren shook her head and picked up the Yin-Yang Orb for safe keeping.

"I swear, the nerve of that girl! Here I was trying to offer my help, and she throws her stupid magic marble at me!" Sanae stamped her foot in anger.

"You might have been better served by being a bit more diplomatic, Sanae-san." replied Byakuren. "Reimu has had a rather bad day, and reminding her of her recent misfortunes was not particularly soothing."

"Ahh! Not you too! Yukari and Reimu can both kiss my ass, I'm out!" And then Sanae suited actions to words, launching into the air and darting off in the direction of Youkai Mountain. However, Byakuren was not paying attention to the shrine maiden's departure; instead the monk was studying the Yin-Yang Orb, which had grown curiously warm in her hand. To Byakuren, it felt as if some bit of magic had been erased from the artifact.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Puella Magi party were making slow progress through the forest, on account of Utsuho's sense of direction; specifically, her total lack thereof. However, the party's wandering did turn up something else of significance: a very sticky Mami.

"Do I want to know what happened here?" asked Sayaka after she peeled enough of the hardened cream off to let Mami speak.

"Charlotte happened," replied Mami grumpily. Kyōko began to cackle while Sayaka rolled her eyes and sliced away more of the binding goo. "Either I'm going to give her extra dessert, or extra spankings, I haven't decided yet."

"What exactly did she do?"

"Well, she interrupted me as I was attempting to assassinate that Cirno girl, but she used a simulacrum of the Dessert Witch to do it." Mami shivered a bit at the memory.

"Wow, low blow. What did you do to set her off?" asked Kyōko, who was sampling some of the dried cream. Mami glared at Kyōko, either for the comment, or the atrocity of eating food off the forest floor, possibly both.

"I perhaps insinuated that she was not mature enough to comment on my decision."

"Ouch! That would definitely do it." Kyōko was then interrupted by a tug on the sleeve.

"Hey, Kyōko? I uh, don't really know how to say this nice, so I'm just gonna say it straight," Nova looked both bashful and yet determined as she addressed the red-haired Puella Magi. "Can you bugger off for a bit, maybe go find Charlotte? I need to talk to Sayaka, and I don't need you making this any harder than it already is, okay?" The redhead gave Nova a funny look, but when Sayaka shook her head, Kyōko shrugged and walked away. _Just so ya' know, if Blueberry calls, I'm gonna come running, __spear first, 'kay? Hey Mossy, let's go see what we can dig up!_ With an effort of will, Nova tuned out Kyōko, focusing solely on what she needed to say.

"Okay, what the hell?" Sayaka crossed her arms over her chest and looked at Nova as though an explanation might be tattooed upon the former Incubator's face.

"I can't make this make sense any other way, so here's how it's gonna go. I'm going to tell you something, then you're going to hit me, and then I'm going to explain what I mean, and maybe it will make sense."

"Oh come on, I'm not going to hit you, even if you deserve it." Nova just nodded.

"Okay, here it goes: I'm glad you're upset about your father's death-" pain blossomed seemingly simultaneously in Nova's face and the back of her head- the former from a solid right hook and the latter from her head bouncing off the ground. The sudden burst of emotion and pain brought Kyōko and Hitomi running, weapons in hand, but Sayaka waved them off as Nova scrambled back to her feet.

"Nothing to worry about, just Nova trying out her fortune-telling skills is all!" Kyōko and Hitomi both looked at the white-haired girl, or rather the blood streaming from her nose.

"Doesn't look like any fortune-telling method I've ever seen, what is she going to read the pattern of blood spatter?" said Kyōko with a smirk.

"Ibt's fine, really." replied Nova, pinching her nose to stop the blood flow. "It would help ib I had wished for some healing powers."

"See? Everything's just dandy, so shoo!" Sayaka got synchronized eye-rolls, but the girls went back to searching. "Now, you want to make that make sense? Today seems to be my day to hit people, got it?" Nova nodded.

"I don't suppose she told you, but Madoka wished that none of her friends would ever suffer 'true despair', which I have been trying to puzzle out ever since she said it. But the important thing is, if you're not okay with the situation, then there are still steps that can and will be taken to make the situation right. And I don't think there is anything which can stand in the way of that wish." Nova shivered as she recalled the dread words. "She scares me sometimes, Madoka that is. Keep in mind that who I was, that person would have gladly let this world burn in order to fulfill the mission. And surely here was a trap that no one could escape: Madoka had just confessed to Homura, and that bloody-minded black-haired pest totally misread what Madoka was saying, ran straight into a Witch, and was about two minutes from being dinner. Madoka would _have_ to wish to save that girl, and in that situation her wish would _have_ to be a thoughtless, weak, and dangerous wish.

"But no, instead, she makes a beautiful, powerful wish, one that had drastic consequences for all of you. I mean, can any of you even be killed now? That would cause a lot of despair, wouldn't it?"

"Well, obviously we can, y'know . . ." Sayaka gestured to herself.

"And you were dead, what, one whole day? Not even quite that much? They kicked _Death_ itself in the teeth to get you back!" Nova put her hands to her temples, and it was like she was trying to hold her mind in. "Why can I still even grant wishes? I've been named Public Enemy #1 by my people, and the whole point of the system in the first place was to grind down little girls until they break so we can harvest the energy, and even if I wanted to still do that, you've pretty much ruined that gig. So what am I even still doing here?! Ahhh!" Sayaka darted forward and grabbed Nova's wrists before the ex-Incubator could begin tearing at her hair. _Why the hell is everybody else losing their shit? Today should be _MY_ day to have a breakdown!_

"I'm sorry," replied Nova, hanging her head, and for a moment Sayaka was confused as the white-haired girl stopped struggling. _Oh yeah, you're extra-sensitive, you can probably hear me like I'm speaking._ Nova nodded. "Yeah."

"So, then, why are you here?" asked Sayaka, and Nova was surprised by the lack of sarcasm in her voice. "Why do you keep getting up and doing every day? You could have just let your Soul Gem go dark and Witched out, hell, I bet if you chuck it off a tall-enough building, that'd be the end of that."

"Uhhh . . . " Nova eyed Sayaka with worry at the cheerfully offhand way in which she described how to go about becoming an ex-Puella Magi. "Well, we've been fighting these badguys, and before that was school, and, well, just seeing the world through Human eyes, I guess."

"There ya go! Just do that in reverse! Oh, don't give me that look, you know what I mean! Kill the badguys, then finish up this year of school and then . . . go find something. Your heart will find its' way, but only if you let it, y'know?"

"Huh. Thank you, Sayaka." instead of a reply, Sayaka gave Nova a hug.

"Hey, that's what friends are for, right? Uh, sorry about the nose." Nova poked at her nose and winced- thanks to the supernatural constitution of a Puella Magi, it wasn't broken any more, but her nose was still tender to the touch.

"Apologies accepted, but ow! Where did you learn to punch like that?"

"Aw, well, when I was little, I promised to make Madoka my bride, and so I made it my duty to see off anybody who made her feel bad. You can take the tomboy out of the brawl . . ."

". . . but you can't make her drink? Is that how it goes?" Sayaka rolled her eyes and ruffled Nova's hair.

"Yeaaah no. You need remedial Human lessons, starting just as soon as we get home!" A twinge in the empathic link from Hitomi interrupted any further conversation. _Everyone, come here quickly. We have a problem!_

* * *

"Well, this is a problem," mused Homura. She and Madoka and the two Gensokyans were hovering over the office building where Junko Kaname worked. "There is a Witch in the building."

"This would be one of those 'scary nightmare monster' Witches, right, not a simple innocent little spellcaster like myself?" asked Marisa.

"For sufficient values of simple and innocent, yes." Homura favored the building with a frightful scowl. "The first Witch we've seen in months, and it happens to be in this building, directly after the Purifiers began striking at our loved ones to get at us."

"Yeah, Remi or Tewi might be able to string together something like that, but only on a good day and with lots of brain sweat."

"Here is the plan: We mask ourselves as best as possible, enter the building, secure Junko Kaname, remove her from the premises-"

"But what about the Witch? We can't just let it eat Mom's coworkers!" Homura just sighed, quietly, and buried her first response deep inside where Madoka couldn't find it.

"Okay, look, this is a trap. I do not wish to watch innocent people die, but rescuing your mother is more important. If we're lucky, they'll give up and go away once we've stolen the bait, but also, we are only four, and that has been poor odds against the Purifiers. If one of their kind is actually here . . . " Homura turned and took hold of Madoka by the shoulders. "I don't want to see you at your mother's funeral, but I would like it even less if Junko had to come to _our_ funerals, do you understand?"

". . . yeah." Madoka nodded along, and with an act of will she brought up her resolve and stared down at the building. "Let's go!"

* * *

Junko Kaname stepped out of the bathroom, stopped dead in her tracks, and stared uncomprehendingly at the cubicles before her. None of the workers who normally staffed the section were there, but that wasn't what had shocked her. _Noisy little bumblebees, always buzzing at somebody else's desk!_ was Junko's opinion of this particular section.

No, the surprising bit was the fact the office had gone all . . . stop-motion, twitchy and glitchy and unreal. Even worse, the desks began opening their drawers one-by-one, an action which drew beachball-sized bees. The buzzing masses were clad in pinstriped suits rather than their customary black-and-yellow warnings, but they were bees nonetheless, and the insects landed at this or that drawer, guzzling coffee nectar from within and gathering spreadsheets, powerpoint slides, and other data like pollen on their legs before bobbling off to another workstation.

"Okay, that's it. I don't care if Kazuya-san is buying, no more Scotch!" said Junko as she observed the bizarre workings.

* * *

"Hey, Alice, remind me never to take a swig from Suika's gourd, okay?" quipped Marisa as the group made their way through the insanity within the Barrier.

"I wasn't aware you drank?" was the puppeteer's reply.

"Oh, I don't, but I just want to make sure I don't ever end up in a place like this again! Is this normal for a Witch?"

"More or less," replied Homura with a shrug. The world hiccuped for a moment and then a drone which had become a little too interested in the party exploded. Homura sheathed the Desert Eagle which hadn't been in her hand a second ago, and motioned for the group to continue on. "At least it's no one we know. Those cycles in which Sayaka went over the edge, Oktavia was a nightmare to fight, because she knew our tricks and was as devoted to hurting us as Sayaka is devoted to protection."

"And I thought growing up under the Vengeful Ghostess was tough," muttered Marisa. "Let's get our lady and get _out_ while the gettin's good!" Greasy laughter slid along the air in response to the magician's plea.

_**Dear me, I thought you girls were intelligent. That is not one, but two grievous mistakes in a row! You see, this poor, agonized creature that you so callously call "Witch" does know you . . . and I assure you, you will not be escaping here!**_

A figure appeared from the buzzing madness on humming steel wings. What landed before the girls was dressed in full samurai armor, but the armor itself was covered entirely in caution tape rather than lacquer, giving it a disturbing half-resemblance to a bee, augmented by the insectile menpo mask upon the wearer's face. Madoka made eye contact with the sorrowful brown eyes behind the mask, and the recognition made her gasp. "Akiko-chan!" cried Madoka, causing the Witch to flinch ever so slightly.

_**Oh, so you do know her? Tomohara-san confessed that she was certain you lot had forgotten her, when she made her wish. It is hard, you know, to be noticed when there are mean little "magical" girls flaunting their disobedience and superiority all over the place. It might just be hard enough to make a girl wish she could even the playing field . . .**_

"Monster! How could you do such an awful thing to her!" Madoka turned worried eyes to the Witch. "Akiko-chan, hold yourself together! We can save you!" The words reached the creature in the garish armor, but they did not have the effect that Madoka wanted.

BGM: Yuki Kajiura - Mai-HiME Soundtrack Vol. 1 - "Mezame"

With a shriek of pain and rage the Witch attacked, unleashing a storm of a thousand blade-strikes upon Madoka, who just stood wide-eyed in the face of destruction until the tiny forms of Alice's doll army surrounded her. Several Shanghais raised shields to blunt the assault while a team of Hourais wrapped enough string around Madoka that Alice could pull her free without cutting the Puella Magi to pieces. Homura stepped out of time and drew her Desert Eagle once more, emptying the remaining shots into the Witch point-blank, but to little effect- in the few places where bullets actually pierced the samurai armor, thick golden blood oozed out and sealed the wounds.

A searing bar of light caught the Witch sidelong and threw her out of position, then Marisa followed up by unleashing her Non-Directional Laser. As the Spellcard carved up the space around the blonde magician there came a series of pops and squeals as a handful of familiar drones exploded, but several more pressed in on Marisa, distracting her. Homura turned to look at Madoka and grimaced; the pink-haired girl's eyes were wide and tearful as she looked at the rampaging form of what had once been their classmate.

"Why . . . Why won't Akiko-chan listen?" mumbled Madoka, even as the battle swirled literally around where she sat- Marisa was forced to give ground by the furious flashing blades of the berserk Witch. Alice snarled as her opponent entered and left her reach without the puppeteer taking any attack- to draw the Witch's attention from this weakened position would be inviting a world of pain.

"Not every battle can be won," replied Alice.

"Sometimes, all you can do is _finish_ the fight," added Homura, and a cold mask settled upon her face. "Madoka, I had hoped you would never have to learn this lesson. Foolishly I thought I could protect you from the worst of the world's cruelty."

"What are you going to do?"

"I am going to grant her peace, of one form or another. You would probably be best off averting your eyes." Madoka quailed in fright as she saw the expression upon Homura's face, a deadly hard set which hadn't been there . . . _not since I first met her, when she was trying to kill, er, Nova to keep her away from me!_ The pink-haired girl closed her eyes but she couldn't avert her ears, so all Madoka could do was try not to look and hope everything was going okay, even when she heard Alice cry out in pain and the replying whip-tangle of wires and the awful sounds of metal being rent . . . even when she heard and felt through her eyelids the destroying light of the Master Spark and the accompanying sizzle of matter boiling away under the hellish touch . . . even when she heard the impact of a blade punching through meat and the soft sigh and grunt of life being lost.

"Madoka, come here. We need to leave." Madoka looked up to find Homura standing over her, haloed by the mundane glow of banked florescent lights, and in her hand was a katana, painted clear to the hilt with sticky amber fluid. Marisa worked up a spell, a copy of Nitori's Optical Camouflage that, while not as good as the original, would suffice to let the girls move through the building without attracting too much suspicion.

"You know, my mother- the woman who raised me at least- is the Queen of Hell," remarked Alice as they rushed through the offices looking for Junko. "After today, I would like nothing more than to hunt down the powers behind this madness and commend them to her burning embrace, because she owes me and I can ensure they get seating in the _extra-inferno_ section."

_**My, my, such harsh words. I suppose I should be terrified? You lot are certainly adept when it comes to slaughtering broken, grief-stricken girls. No wonder my counterpart Units had difficulty handling this case. **_All light and hope seemed to dim as a new figure appeared. Like the other Purifiers, this one was made from solid shadow, but it was far more substantial- like a statue carved from onyx, and dressed in a midnight-blue pinstripe suit, tie the color of spilled blood, fedora, and mirror-polished wingtips. And yet, what stood before them was not the whole of the being; it was as though there was another standing just behind the statuesque figure, a being of such horror that it remained out of view so as not to drive the mind mad just by its' presence. **_Alas, you shall not be hearing from those miserable wretches any longer. Sacrifices had to be made, you know, if I am to erase the existence of this troublesome little world _and_ overthrow our megalomaniacal Overseer. Not that megalomania itself is a bad thing, mind, but to borrow a turn of phrase from you Humans, one must "walk the walk as well as talk the talk." Of course, I suppose I should thank you, for without your continued pressure, he never would have released the codes required for me to become who I am._ **The figure swept his hat from his head and bowed low with a flourish. _**Allow me to introduce myself: I am the damnation of your world. You may call me Ragnarok.**_ And with that, the being called Ragnarok faded away into shadow.

"Well, nothing like a challenge to keep things interesting, ze?"

"Marisa, shut up." replied Alice.

* * *

"Aha! Reimu, finally! For a lazy person, you can certainly fly fast when you want to." Remilia quipped as she fell into formation alongside the angry shrine maiden.

"Whatever. Look, Remilia, I'm really not in the mood for any more of your childish nonsense right now." The rebuke was enough to make Remilia stop dead in the air. Reimu took no notice of the little vampire falling behind, or her frustrated cry either. In fact, Reimu had already put Remilia out of her mind, and so was rather surprised when a barrage of bloody red danmaku exploded in front of her face.

"What the?!" Reimu whirled around, drawing a fistful of ofuda and reflexively calling for her Yin-Yang Orb . . . which wasn't there. What she found instead was Remilia, fangs bared, tears leaking from her eyes, Gungir raised to strike.

"You- you fiend! W-what if it wasn't nonsense? Ahh!" Gungir sailed out, trailing bloody lightning as it passed Reimu. The shrine maiden narrowed her eyes and slipped a hand into her Spellcard pouch. "Have at you!" cried Remilia, opening the duel with a fearsome barrage.

BGM: Syrufit - Rectia - "Arc of Dream"

"Okay, what the hell are you on about!" Reimu hurled fans of ofuda at the darting vampire, in what was oddly a sign of respect; even if Remilia wasn't trying to hit the shrine maiden at first, just standing there and ignoring her attacks would be an insult, a declaration that the opponent wasn't even worth engaging. That being said, Reimu was ready to start shooting for real- between Yukari, Sanae, and the Outsiders, today had been plenty annoying, and she had no patience left to deal with whatever the hell Remilia's problem was.

It appeared Remilia was willing to give as good as she got and then some- she blew through the ofuda spread as a cloud of bats and then reformed in time to crack out a Spellcard.

"If you don't know, you don't deserve to know! _Critical ~ Heart Break!_" Another streak of bloody red shot out at Reimu, this time with much better aim, so the shrine maiden was obliged to dive out of the way or get skewered. Reimu pulled into a tight spiral to evade the followup barrage of danmaku and then ripped out a Spellcard of her own, and then it was Remilia's turn for some fancy wingwork as the _Dream Sign ~ Evil-Sealing Circle_ formed around her. This set the vampire's blood to boiling- although the dueling rules were in effect and so nothing could inflict lethal damage, the Evil-Sealing spell was based off a shrine maiden's traditional arsenal and would be exceptionally painful for Remilia.

"Why you! I'll get you for that!" Remilia punctuated her every word with blasts of danmaku, substituting brute force instead of any sort of strategy or plan. Reimu triggered an amulet to buy herself a moment of freedom and then she was shouting back at her opponent.

"Hey, you started it! I've had enough shit today to last me another year, so if you want to be coy, don't expect me to play nice, got it?!"

"Coy? _Coy?!_ Oh, you thoughtless, heartless jerk! How could I ever have fallen for you?" That was certainly answer enough for Reimu's question, but the revelation did the shrine maiden no good- in fact, Reimu was so shocked by the confession that she stopped moving altogether. Unfortunately, Remilia hadn't stopped firing shots as she blurted out her thoughts, and so the full force of her anger-fuelled barrage slammed into the shrine maiden, knocking her senseless, and while the bullets weren't lethal, the fall most certainly would be.

"R-reimu? That's not funny!" Remilia watched as Reimu plummeted from the sky as a stone, twirling as the wind buffeted her, and the vampire knew this was no semi-controlled descent for the sake of playing a trick on her. Just by speed alone Remilia had no chance of arresting the shrine maiden's fall, the ground was already so close, but that didn't stop the Scarlet Devil from rushing toward Reimu as fast as she could. As she dived for her target, however, Remilia stretched out with the one ability she possessed which might make a difference. _Reimu, I won't let you die because of my mistake! I _WILL NOT _let that be your destiny!_ Reimu's form disappeared into the treeline, and Remilia shot in after her.

Descending through the hole punched in the canopy, it appeared that Reimu had hit an unusually springy green tree first, then fallen down and got caught upon the branches of a second tree, tearing a bit of her shrine maiden's dress, but it swung her around so that she had only one more short fall, whereupon Reimu had landed upon a forest fairy. The unfortunate fairy would reincarnate eventually, but at least Reimu looked more-or-less whole when Remilia got to her.

"Come on, Reimu, wake up! Ohh, please don't be dead I'm sorry, I'm sorry I didn't mean to get angry, you can't be dead . . . wahhh!" Remilia trailed off into a long howling cry.

"Owieee . . ." groaned Reimu a minute later, which was sufficient to cause Remilia to pounce on the shrine maiden and hug her tight, which in turn wrenched an ear-splitting squeal of pain from Reimu. "Ribs . . . hah . . . cracked one on the tree . . ." Remilia let out a squeak of her own as she scrambled to get off the shrine maiden before causing any further pain. "It's taking longer to heal than usual since I didn't bring the Yin-Yang Orb with me."

"What?!" Remilia let out a shout of dumbfounded shock. "The Yin-Yang Orb is keyed to your healing and you _threw it_ at Sanae? Reimu Hakurei, what is wrong with you? That was like the third thing I learned upon becoming a vampire, never let anything tied to your essence out of your sight! I was going to ask if you switched brains with Marisa when I wasn't watching, but even _she_ always keeps her toys with her! Honestly, what is wrong with you?" Reimu scowled fiercely as the little vampire huffed.

"Alright, alright, I get it, I was dumb. Wait, what were the first two things you learned then?"

"Um, sunlight hurts and peasants taste horrible." Reimu palmed her face, and then hissed in pain.

"Let's head back before anything else goes wrong. And I might need a hand."

"Oh, sure, and next I suppose you'll be wanting tea and breakfast in bed!" replied Remilia, giving a fang-filled grin as she spoke to show that she meant no harm.

"I thought you had staff for that?"

"Oh, sure, I do . . . when they remember that they work for _me_ and not the other way around!"

* * *

Kyōko burst into the clearing, spear up and ready to do some damage, with Sayaka and Mami following close behind. At first glance, however, there didn't exactly happen to be any threat; the only other people present were Hitomi, Cirno, and Charlotte, who was sitting on the ground, her teeth chattering.

"Uh, okay, where's the fire?" asked Kyōko, planting the butt of her spear in the ground clutter and leaning upon it. (F-f-f-fire s-s-sounds good right about n-n-n-now!) muttered Charlotte in response.

"It's Cirno! She has been connected to the empathic link!" replied Hitomi, managing to pack worry and indignation into every syllable.

"M-m-m-my f-fault," added Charlotte. "S-s-she was g-going dark, I had to s-s-save her." Kyōko looked first at Charlotte then at Cirno, probing the ice fairy to confirm that yes, she was linked, and then back to Charlotte.

"Hey, she's even the right color! Way to go Peachie!" At this, Charlotte stared at Kyōko in confusion until she was able to tune in and draw out the redhead's meaning, at which point the peach-haired girl went crimson from collarbones to hairline.

"It's n-n-not like that! (Huh? Eye don't get it?)" was Charlotte's reply, while the rapid fire empathic byplay left the newest Puella Magi highly confused.

"Wait! You can't just let her in, she's dangerous!" Hitomi stomped her foot, trying to make her fellow Puella Magi see her point.

"Uh, why not?"

"Because, she doesn't understand what she gotten herself into! This girl made the contract just to grab for power!"

"You mean, like you did?" Sayaka interjected with an acid tongue. "Funny, we seemed to let you stick around."

"!" was all Hitomi could manage for a reply, and then she turned and marched away from the gathering.

"Oh, now what the hell?" asked Kyōko as she watched the green-haired girl storm off.

"Eh, let her be. Everybody has days, and she'll scream if she needs help." Sayaka turned to look down at Cirno. "Understand this, there's still a lot you need to know about that curse you have on your hand. But for right now, let's just get the hell home. We can do all the hard talking over tea and cake."

"Everything is better with cake! (Especially Mami's cake!)" added Kyōko and Charlotte.

* * *

Remilia touched down at Hakurei Shrine and let Reimu get her footing before letting the shrine maiden out of her grasp. The Yin-Yang Orb was still present, accompanied by Satori and a bemused Byakuren.

"You have a message, it seems." said Byakuren. The monk held up an angry Shanghai. Reimu hobbled over and retrieved her Orb from Byakuren's care, then beckoned the doll forward.

_"Hey, what gives, ze?"_ Reimu was startled to hear Marisa's voice pour from Shanghai, and with her well of human kindness running near dry, the shrine maiden nearly annihilated the doll. A spark of pain from her injuries changed Reimu's mind, and so Shanghai continued relaying the message, unawares of her narrowly-averted demise. _"We've been waiting for a portal for a while now. What's goin' on over there?"_

_Oh, let's see . . . I managed to lose my temper, nearly picked a fight with Sanae, did pick a fight with Remilia, got my ribs busted, oh, and Remi just confessed she has a crush on me!_ Reimu fumed but she didn't shout any of those things at Marisa by way of the doll. Instead, the shrine maiden replied with "It's coming along, hold on," and took hold of the Yin-Yang Orb.

Nothing happened. Reimu shook her head in momentary disbelief and tried again, to no result. Muttering profanities which might have done actual harm to any relevant deities who happened to hear them, the shrine maiden tested the other functions of the Yin-Yang, and found them working as normal, especially the pointless-but-satisfying invocation of the Orb as a Spellcard which rendered some of the rubble of the Shrine into fine dust. Then Reimu remembered where the spell had originated, and she made a connection.

"Oh, that _BITCH!_" shouted Reimu, shaking her fist vaguely in the direction of the Yakumo residence.

_"What's going on?!"_ came Marisa's anxious voice from Shanghai.

"Oh, nothing much, just Yukari revoked the portal spell!"

Marisa blinked, dumbfounded, as the news was relayed through the Hourai doll she was holding. The blonde magician felt the bashful-yet-cocky grin she used when trying to beg for something or worm her way out of trouble creep on to her face as she turned to where Alice and Homura were discussing ways of handling their mutual opponents.

"Uh, so Reimu says that Yukari cut her off. Umm, do you have a couch we could crash on for a little bit?"

"I should be able to arrange that, provided we can find some extra futons and blankets." replied Homura.

"I can get some, it's no problem!" added Madoka, who was considerably more cheerful now that she had something nice and helpful to focus upon. However, it turned out her prediction that there would be no trouble wasn't totally accurate- upon arriving at Madoka's house, the girls were intercepted by a Junko who was startlingly sober especially considering the empty sake flask in her hand.

"Something very strange happened at work today," said Junko. "And I'm quite certain I saw you girls there. And I think you knew what was going on. What I would like to know, is how you knew what was going on, and can I do anything to help you? I'll admit I was scared, scared enough _this_ didn't even touch me," Junko waggled her empty bottle for emphasis. "So I bet you're probably scared too, huh?" Madoka shrank from her mother's gaze, unable to articulate what had happened with Akiko and how it had affected her, so Homura stepped to the fore. Junko sized up the black-haired girl, taking in her stance and the way she had interposed herself between mother and daughter. " (. . . I see, you did net a good one, Madoka-chan.)" she mumbled, just loud enough for Homura's ears.

"Please sit down, everyone. This will take some time to tell properly." And so, once everyone was as comfortable as the situation allowed, Homura began laying out the story of the Puella Magi, Walpurgisnacht, and the Purifiers, laying out only enough information to make a coherent narrative. _But even this much would strain rational belief,_ thought Homura as she sifted through their history to make her explanation. _To make sense of all that has happened, that would require . . . magic._

"Huh." was Junko's assessment of the tale. She then indicated Alice and Marisa with a wave of the hand that held her sake, this one a fresh bottle which was already somewhat depleted in order to help the story go down. "So what're you two then, space aliens?" The comment caused Madoka to crack and break out in slightly broken laughter.

"Actually, Mom, Nova's the space alien," said Madoka by way of explanation once she was under control once more.

"Hah! I knew it! Nobody could be that weird on purpose." Junko toasted her victory with another slug of the sake, which appeared to be kicking in.

"Indeed," replied Alice.

"So then, what are you two? You're obviously not, er, _normal_, considering the situation."

"We're just ordinary everyday witches, is all." said Marisa in a cheerful voice, but she failed to notice the sudden flinch and sharp breath from Madoka at the mention of the dread word. Marisa did not fail to notice the kick which impacted squarely into her shin from Alice, and tears welled in Marisa's eyes as she bit her lip to keep from screaming from the sudden pain.

"Oh, is everything alright dear? You look pained." came the question from Junko.

"Nah, I'm, ah, fine. (what the hell, ze?)" was Marisa's reply, with a snapped question for Alice.

"Oh! I didn't notice, I meant Madoka-chan. You seem upset."

"I- I'm alright, really. I just need a little rest."

"Sounds fine. Your father will be home from the stores in a bit, then we can see about dinner and finding a place for you two to bed down for the evening." Madoka and Junko got up and left for their respective rooms, and Homura whipped out her cellphone, but before she could dial, a hand restrained her.

"Go to her." Alice leveled her gaze upon Homura, but the Puella Magi simply ducked the hand and flicked out her hair as an air of contemptuous cold settled in upon her.

"I failed her once already this day. I need to-"

"You need to be by her side, or you shall be compounding your failure. Whatever other tasks you feel need to be done, let Marisa and I take care of them."

"You think you can acquit yourself with competence in this world?" Homura's face was white with pinched anger, and Shanghai stirred from the pocket in which she rode in response to Alice's fight-or-flight reflex coming to the fore.

"Do you think _you_ can, as hard and brittle as you are right now? Or is that girl just an excuse for you to go and act as you please?"

"I!-" Alice readied herself for a scream, a slap, a Spellcard, anything which might come from Homura's sudden break, but instead the Puella Magi seemed to shrink as her facade broke down. "You are correct. I was acting to salve my ego and dressing it up as our best interests."

"Perhaps, and yet you are correct, this is your world. Tell me what your plan was, and I shall see if we can accomplish it." Homura nodded, and then began to tell another tale.

* * *

"Yeah, no, that's about it. Anything else?" Sayaka smashed the 'end call' on her cell and then let out a sigh. "Never trust a smart girl, she'll just screw things up. I'll take a certified idiot any day!" So saying, the blunette draped an arm over Kyōko, who in turn gave Sayaka a sour look.

"Gee, thanks, I think. What the hell is Homerun up to this time?"

"She's got Alice and Marisa doing some kind of crazy job with the Yakuza and it's supposed to bring back my dad, or something." The pronouncement was accompanied by the sound of Kyōko's hand slapping her forehead in disbelief.

"For what it is worth, Alice is a capable and clever magician," said Sakuya as she approached the table at which the girls were seated. The various parties had retreated to the Scarlet Devil Mansion, and then Reimu and Remilia had retreated to private quarters to freshen up, or so they said, which left Byakuren, Satori, and the Puella Magi hanging, minus Charlotte who had run off with Cirno to learn what sort of mischief was possible in the Land of Illusions. "And then there is Marisa, who has the most damnable luck of anyone who isn't Tewi Inaba."

"Yeah, well, I say it's better to be good than lucky. Also, overwhelming firepower helps a bunch."

"My, my, you are more like Marisa than you might think," Byakuren chimed in. "Your magic is dangerous, then, to encourage such an outlook?"

"You might say that," replied Sayaka. "Nothing like the promise of a painful suffering death followed by the knowledge that your dead soul will come back to haunt your friends in the worst possible way to make you sharp."

"Oh my!"

* * *

"Y'know, Remi, you keep treating me like this, I'll start thinking you weren't joking earlier." Reimu sighed as she sank deeper into the hot bath, letting the water soak away her aches, and her concerns. Remilia scowled at the shrine maiden's dismissive attitude, but she waited until Reimu was taking a sip of tea before whacking Reimu upside the head, causing a massive spit-take.

"Ack! What was that for?"

"I _am_ serious you know, so why do you have to keep being so . . . unlikeable!" Remilia slipped into the bath, which caused Reimu to become very interested in the bottom of her teacup. _There's a spell in the Yin-Yang Orb to fix everything else, why can't there be one for _this_ situation!_

"I guess I never really expected to _be_ in love. If it hadn't been for this Outside situation scaring a tiny bit of sense into Marisa, I would've just kept going on with this slow-burning crush I had on her till I said or did something stupid and then we would've ended up blasting each other till we got bored and . . . I'm rambling, aren't I?"

"While I cannot claim to be an expert in the methodology of romance, I do believe carrying on about previous love interests is considered a faux pas."

"Uh, yeahhh . . . I'll take that as a 'yes', I suppose." Reimu sank into the bath, at war with her thoughts for a minute. "I guess it's hard to be interested in love when I know that I'm going to get bred like a prize ox sometime in the near future. Have to preserve the Sacred Bloodline and all. Sheesh!"

"Well, I could always fix that, you know." Remilia grinned so that her fangs were showing. "One little sip is all it takes."

"Huh? A sip?"

"You know, a sip of my blood? It's how we bring new blood into the fold, uh, pardon the expression."

"Oh. I thought you did the . . . " Reimu curled two fingers in front of her mouth and made a sharp stabbing motion.

"Oh dear me, no! That's strictly for dinnertime. And anyway, how would me drinking _your_ blood transfer _my_ powers to you? We're not lycanthropes, the filthy beasts, it's not a disease!"

"Either way, I think I'll pass, not that I don't appreciate the offer."

"You sure? I'll even release you so you're not my slave or anything!"

"Uhh, now I'm definitely passing!"

"Hah! No one is ever up for a little excitement in their life!" Remilia sipped her tea and became pensive. "You know, Sakuya turned me down too."

"Huh?" Reimu was caught unawares by the sudden change in the atmosphere.

"Sakuya Izayoi, although exceptionally talented and very long-lived, is still a mortal." The clipped, precise speech was a stark contrast to the jovial tones Reimu had come to expect from Remilia, and it tore at her heart to hear. "There are days, I can't even bear to look at her, it hurts too much. To know that one day, one day I will have to bury her."

"That's rough. How much longer does she have, do you know?"

"I'm not sure, but not a terribly long time, two, maybe three hundred years?"

"Bwah?! Uh, Remi, that's like forever and then some!"

"Oh, you would think that way!" Remilia went red in the face, but her expression was too cute for Reimu to take seriously.

"Well, yeah, I'm not even 20 years old yet and you're worried about two _hundred_? That's still a lot of time. The Mansion will likely fall apart before she does! I mean, you must have a _lot_ you need to do with her if you're worried about running out of time!" Remilia blinked.

"I- I hadn't thought of things like that." admitted the Scarlet Devil.

"I can't imagine what it must be like, to know ahead of time that you will outlive those you care about. But I do know if you keep worrying overmuch about the future, you'll lose the _now_." Reimu watched Remilia's face fall, and realized she was pushing a bit too hard. "Hey, look, I'm not trying to be a total downer, promise."

"Well, then, you are being unintentionally successful," replied Remilia with a bit of her "haughtier-than-thou" personality coming back. "But it is something I needed to hear, it seems. I suppose now you will dictate terms, I shall have to make so much progress towards living in your now before you will return my affections or something of the like."

"Aw hell no! I try not to be any more foolish than the situation warrants. I can't promise I'll make a _good_ catch, and I can't say 'forever' yet, but if you will still have me . . . "

"Well, I _suppose_ I could accept," replied Remilia, slipping fully back into her overwrought persona with a grin on her face. "You will of course be obligated to battle the legions of my other suitors for my hand."

"Bah, with Yukari and the Purifiers and Sanae, tell 'em to get in line!"

* * *

"May I come in?" Homura asked at the closed door, but then she entered before waiting for an answer. Madoka was dressed in her pajamas, burrowed into the pile of stuffed animals which inhabited the corner between her bed and the wall.

"W-why couldn't we save her? Why did it have to happen?" Madoka looked up at Homura with teary red eyes.

"I don't know. I haven't been good at knowing things since Walpurgisnacht. It is the price of being human, I guess." Homura idly studied the ring containing her Soul Gem. "In this last cycle, I let you all destroy my perfection in order to maintain my humanity, and sometimes I wonder if it was worth it."

"It is." The response came from Alice, who stood in the doorway. "Excuse me, I was simply going to return this," Hourai and Shanghai floated over to Homura, carrying her cellphone between them. "I did not mean to intrude, but you must know, you made the correct choice. I once chose perfection over humanity, and unlike you, I was not fortunate enough to be able to reverse my course." Alice entered the room and sat down on Madoka's desk chair. "When I say I am a 'magician', I do not mean as a vocation. I have become a youkai, a beast made of magic, not flesh. The transformation has rendered me immortal, but in the process I have given up a good deal of what makes life worth living. Indeed, it has taken a very special and rare kind of magic to keep me connected to this world at all." Homura cocked an eyebrow, and a smile crested Alice's lips. "Marisa, would you care to explain?"

"Uh, huh? Explain what, ze?" replied Marisa when Shanghai shoved her into the room.

"I was talking about love, you fool!" Alice gave a dismissive wave, which translated into Hourai shooting up to yank off Marisa's hat long enough for Shanghai to deliver a hard, if tiny punch to the top of the blonde's head. "True love is worth more than fame, fortune, immortality, or any other treasure you care to name. Even if it does come in a highly vexing package."

"Hey, back at you! At least I don't go letting my magic trinkets attack you!" Marisa stuck out her tongue.

"And good thing, too, your reputation for property destruction is bad enough as is." The byplay got giggles from Madoka and Homura both, but the black-haired Puella Magi flicked out her hair and reverted to her serious mien quickly.

"That is all well and good, but in what way does it help our current situation? Akiko Tomohara was irritating, but I did not relish having to bring about her end. Do you have any other magic words which can will away the hurt inflicted upon us?"

"Oh, sure. Just bring her back. That should fix everything, yeah?" Marisa weathered Homura's lethal glare with cheerful indifference, but Alice prepared a barrier spell in case the Puella Magi decided to try and end her then and there. "Hey, you guys cheat Death like Tewi cheats at cards, might as well use it, ze!"

"She might be right," replied Madoka, which startled Homura. "What's the harm in trying? At least w-we could bring Akiko-chan back so we can yell at her for being an idiot!"

"I suppose we could," was all that Homura could say. Alice stood up and ushered Marisa out.

"We shall go put your Yakuza in line. You should take this opportunity to rest and replenish your spirits for the coming battle. Perhaps even . . . make some magic happen."

"Yes. Yes, I think we shall," said Homura.

* * *

"Aha! The conquering heroine cometh! Or did she already take care of that?" snarked Koakuma when Reimu and Remilia descended from the top floor. There was quite an audience for the return of the Hakurei Shrine Maiden- Sakuya was there with Patchouli and Koakuma, summoned from the library on Remilia's orders, Byakuren and Satori were still present along with Utsuho and Rin, and Kyōko, Sayaka and Nova were there as well. There was a sparkle in Reimu's eyes and a set to her posture that the other Gensokyans knew well- it was the look that immediately preceded Reimu's delivery of a profound beating to whomever had been foolish enough to earn her ire.

"That would be none of your business, and no you may not 'help' in any way, shape, or form should anything happen." added Reimu to forestall the inevitable followup, which caused Koakuma to break out in a horrible pout. "Now, let's get down to business. Patchy, I need you to rig up a spell that can teleport people back and forth between here and outside the Barrier, and I need it working as soon as possible, or by lunch tomorrow, whichever comes first." The magician's first response to the request was something which sounded approximately like "gark?!".

"Uu, why me? This sounds stupid and dangerous, so why aren't you handing it off to that black-white bother?"

"Well, I would, but Marisa's the first person I need to retrieve with said spell."

"Muykuuu . . . " Patchouli shuffled back to the library with a put-upon air, but the wheels were already turning inside her head. Koakuma decided to earn her keep as a familiar for once and headed to the kitchen to get coffee and snacks going.

"Okay, next, Byakuren!" so named, the monk snapped to attention, an expression of curiosity on her face. "I need you to round up everybody, well excepting you-know-who and have them at the Temple tomorrow, by noonish. We're gonna have a troubleshooting meeting, by which I mean I'm going to pin down the troublemakers and shoot 'em till they decide to stop, and I want everything squared away before the bullets start flying."

"Um, pardon me, but who is 'everybody' you're thinking of?"

"I mean _every_body. Your crew, Eientei, Moriya, Youkai Mountain, the Oni, Satori can handle the Underground; Human Village, the Nineballs, Makai, the Yama . . . if she exists and she's not a Yakumo, I want her here."

"I will try my best."

* * *

"Yamaguchi-kun, a moment of your time!" The call startled Oyabun Yamaguchi as he was approaching his car.

"Excuse me, what the hell did you just call me?" replied the Oyabun, a hand sliding into his coat, where he kept his "security measures".

"That _is_ the manner of address for a subordinate, yes? I was not aware the language had been changed since this morning." Alice kept her tone polite and friendly, and the Yakuza was still too rattled to recognize the true depth of her tone.

"Hah! I don't recognize the authority of any little girls, so piss off!"

"You are willing to play fetch and carry for space aliens and monsters, so I don't see why you wouldn't talk to me."

"Y-you! I don't know what you're talking about! Begone!"

"Do not try my patience." replied Alice, dropping any pretense of warmth. "Remove your hand from your coat, empty, and we shall talk." When the Oyabun was not immediately forthcoming, Alice snapped her fingers once in the air. "Marisa! A demonstration please!" Silhouetted against the waxing moon, Marisa grinned and whipped out her Hakkero, and then Yamaguchi's car was bathed in the glare of the Master Spark until it was reduced to a pool of bubbling slag.

"W-who are you? What do you want?!"

"I represent what you might call a rival of these Purifiers who you have fallen in with. We require assistance to make their removal as clean and quick as possible. Where I come from, the Yakuza are as much a force for stability as they are a criminal enterprise. Now does that hold true here in Mitikahara, or are you simply the thugs-for-hire you appear to be?"

"It's not so simple! They are powerful in ways beyond comprehension, and-" Alice simply gestured to the cooling remains of the car, and the Oyabun stopped talking.

"I understand that power can be intimidating. However, you have bet against the very Humanity from which you were born. That is not merely a crime; it is a sin." Yamaguchi held Alice's gaze for a long minute, then his shoulders slumped, and he nodded.

"I- I understand. What would you have of me?"

* * *

_I don't understand! Am I really so little to them? Can't they see how this is different?_ Hitomi wandered aimlessly between the trees, lost in her own sorrowful thoughts. _She's an outsider! She's different! Why are they willing to accept her, when I still have to fight for my place? Why can't you accept me? _On and on Hitomi wandered, until she finally noticed the darkness which had surrounded her, followed her, and listened to the despair which stained her soul, and by then it was much too late for her to act.

_**Why hello there. Shall I provide you an answer to all your worries?**_


	10. Swordbearer's Curse

**Episode 10: Swordbearer's Curse**

"The sky is crying," Marisa looked pensive as she spoke, staring out the window at the wet and dreary morning. All the girls were up early, the effort needed to get Junko up and out the door saw to that if nothing else, but although there was much that needed to be done, they couldn't actually _do_ anything until they could get back to Gensokyo.

"How very . . . _poetic _of you, Marisa," replied Alice, a bit warily. In Alice's experience, her love had never taken well to enforced downtime, and the puppeteer was mentally preparing to have to restrain Marisa when her impulses turned to the devious and destructive.

"No, she's right," added Homura, grim-faced as ever. "It seems Ragnarok is not simply content with bringing us misery. Witches walk in the shadows once again, and the world itself weeps at the pain of it all. We must bring about the conclusion of this fight and quickly, or I fear what might happen."

"Y'know, that's what burns me the most about all this," grumbled Marisa from her seat on the windowsill. "If Yukari was here, she would tear this Ragnarok guy a new asshole, and I mean that in the most literal since, and then she'd stuff the rest of him up his own hole and we'd be done in time for dinner. But _nooo_, she has to go play Queen Bitch, get us and you guys fighting each other, and now we have to fix her too. Where's the freakin' justice?" Madoka and Homura looked at each other as they absorbed the rant, and heard in the other's thoughts a shared resolution: _This girl and Kyōko are never, ever to be let near each other unsupervised._

"Speaking of, any word on when we're going to be able to transit again?" Homura flipped her hair and consulted her cellphone with a frown. "Right now everything is under control, but that will last precisely as long as Yamaguchi's good will and Aya Miki's valium prescription."

"Reimu said she should have a solution by this afternoon, and I trust that she will come through. In the meantime, I will go and calm the Oyabun," replied Alice. "After all, the 'carrot and stick' method only works if you offer both a carrot and a stick." Homura nodded her assent and Alice left the room, Marisa hurrying behind.

* * *

Homura's question was a popular one for the morning, or at least popular with people not named "Patchouli Knowledge." An expedition to the library was forestalled in the Scarlet Devil Mansion's large kitchen by a very frazzled-looking succubus.

"I have been sent to inform you all that the teleportation spell will be ready when it is ready, and not before," said Koakuma in a sarcastic parody of anger. "Furthermore, until it is ready, should anyone who is not named 'Koakuma' and is not bearing a kilogram of chocolate and a liter of coffee enter the library, they shall be, and I quote: 'disjunctioned, torn limb-from-limb, and then left to drown in their own blood', end quote. Now, is there anything else I can _assist_ you with?" asked the succubus, licking her lips.

"Hey, here's a dumb question, but does that actually ever work?" Kyōko looked up at Koakuma. "The whole 'blatant flirting at all hours of the day' thing?"

"Hasn't so far, but you can't blame a girl for trying. Or you could be really really kind and fall for it anyway?" Kyōko just stared.

"Weaaak." came the assessment.

"Hey, what do you want? I've been awake for 25 hours now, and I've been forcibly teleported all over the damn Mansion. Come hit me up sometime when I'm on my game, and we'll see what happens." Without her falsely chipper attitude, the succubus looked at least as bad off as she was claiming, possibly worse.

"You mean besides me skinning the both of you alive?" Sayaka joined in the conversation.

"Well you're no fun. Or maybe you're just afraid I'll steal her away?"

"Yeah right! You must need sleep worse than you look, if you think you can pull that off!"

"Oh yeah, wanna bet?"

"No thanks, I already have my quota of Faustian bargains for this lifetime. And before you ask, no I won't change my mind should I happen to die and get resurrected. Not that I don't trust you or anything, but no need for there to be temptations in the heat of battle now is there?"

"Ahh, phooey!" Koakuma replied, but she was grinning as she left the kitchen. Peace reigned for all of 2 minutes, and then Satori trudged in, looking worse off than Koakuma had, if such a thing was possible.

"First person who says 'look what the cat dragged in' is reactor chow, got it?" Satori growled out as she headed for the coffee urn. Her own eyes were barely open, but Satori's Third Eye was putting out plenty enough glare to go around.

"If I may ask, what did happen to you?" Reimu asked, which earned her a look of daggers from Satori.

"I was kept awake by the emotional fumblings of two _idiots_ who should have long ago realized their feelings for one another!" came the snarled reply.

"Huh? I didn't think Rin and Okuu went like that-"

"I was referring to you and Remilia. My pets have a more sisterly relationship." The last bit caused Reimu to blanch, which in turn caused Sayaka to look at the shrine maiden in a perplexed manner.

"She is contemplating the connotations of 'sisterly' in light of a comment which I made yesterday in retaliation for a poorly-chosen thrust in our conversation at the time," Now that the Elixir of Life in her coffeecup had restored a measure of functionality, Satori preempted Sayaka's question. "Yes, I can read minds, no I do not care if it comes off as rude. Ask me again when I have had a chance to properly rest. As for Reimu, you may ponder where the truth lies with regards to myself, my sister, and my pets, but please do not do so in front of Rin, I have no wish to vicariously experience you getting disemboweled." Satori refilled her coffee and shuffled over to a seat.

"You're a real ray of sunshine this morning," muttered Reimu.

"You would be too if horrific powers from beyond the realm of understanding were attempting to inflict a fate worse than death upon someone you cared about, leaving you the option of delivering the coupe de grace yourself or watching her devastate your homeland in an uncontrolled rampage." Satori took a sip of her coffee, daring the others to gainsay her.

"At least someone would mourn Utusho. Cirno wouldn't have gotten even that much."

"With reason. Cirno has not endeared herself to many, if any, of the people she has been in contact with. Of all the things you could spend your time on, Reimu Hakurei, why that ice fairy?"

"Because someone has to care, damnit!" Reimu banged her fist on the table, making the coffee cups, and coffee drinkers both jump. "What do you think this is all about, anyway?"

"I had rather suspected you were gathering together all of the heavy hitters whom you could strong-arm into helping you to go smash in Yukari Yakumo's face in order to salve your ego. If that is not the case, then by all means, please enlighten me."

"You really thought this was all just to settle a grudge? Hah! I have much bigger fish to fry than that old hag, namely the Purifiers. But Yukari has outright declared that she intends to be a problem, so that makes her Item Number One on the list. And no, that doesn't mean smashing her face in. In fact I am going to ask her, politely even, to not interfere until the Incident is resolved."

"And _when_ that fails to work?" came the reply, full of disbelieving sarcasm.

"If that happens, _then_ we smash her face in. But I want to at least make the attempt to handle things in a civil manner."

"Very well, but don't say I didn't warn you."

"Trust me, I know how unlikely it sounds." Reimu drained her own cup, which had been green tea instead of coffee and stood. "I asked for the others to be here in three hours, so I had best get started."

"Uh, started with what?" Kyōko asked.

"Praying for good fortune," replied Reimu with altogether too much cheer.

* * *

"So, you're sure this is going to work?" Marisa was fidgeting in her chair nervously. For a criminal enterprise, the Yamaguchi-kai certainly looked and felt like a smallish government bureaucracy, right down to the bored secretary at the front desk and the cheap plastic chairs in the waiting room.

"Yes I'm sure. We're playing to basic human instincts, and those certainly haven't changed since I was a child."

"Um, would now be a good place to point out you grew up in Makai, with fallen seraphs for parental figures?"

"No, no it most certainly would not be."

"Just checking." Marisa thrust her hand into her pocket, grasping the reassuring weight of the Hakkero, just in case.

"You may enter now," said the secretary, motioning the magicians to Oyabun's office.

"Good morning, ladies. To what do I owe the honor of your presence?" The acid tone of Yamaguchi's words made clear that he considered the visit anything but an honor.

"We are here to make amelioration for the manner of our first visit. You must understand that the foe is exceptionally troublesome and we were obligated to act as quickly and decisively as Humanly possible," said Alice, stressing the "Humanly" to reinforce her argument for breaking ties with the Purifiers. "At the same time, we recognize that we were overzealous in presenting our arguments, and so I offer some repayment." Alice pressed a coin upon the Oyabun's desk and slid it across with one finger. Yamaguchi snatched up the coin and his face began to fall as he read the inscription which said "1 Yen".

"Is this a . . . joke?" The Oyabun trailed off when he saw the inscription on the obverse face, which declared the coin's date of manufacture as "Meiji 17". "Where did you acquire such a thing?"

"It was simply a matter of being in an appropriate place at an appropriate time," replied Alice as she fished out six more of the venerable coins. Five were handed across immediately, but the last coin remained under the puppeteer's finger. "If it is possible, I need an account set up so that I and any of my associates who happen to be in the area can draw funds without drawing undue notice. Say perhaps half the market value of this last piece?" Yamaguchi readily nodded assent and the last coin was passed over. Five minutes later, Alice had an anodized-metal credit card in hand and a car was waiting to usher the girls wherever they wished to go.

"See? Carrot and stick. Works every time."

"I think I'd much rather have the carrot over the stick, thanks." replied Marisa with a bit of a shiver.

"Girth is better than length, or so I have been told," was Alice's counter, which turned Marisa's face scarlet. "Anyway, we have both money and time on our hands. It is time to make a long overdue adjustment."

"Uh, okay?" Marisa suddenly looked very worried. Alice eyed her companion curiously, but then shrugged.

"All I meant was we need to get one of these 'cell phones' for ourselves, to make communications easier if nothing else."

"Oh, uh, that's all? S-sounds good, ze!" _Whatever it is, it will shake out soon enough. Probably._ Alice made a mental note to talk with Marisa about the situation, just as soon as there was a convenient time to do so.

* * *

"Has Hitomi shown up yet?" Mami asked her fellow Puella Magi once the Gensokyans were done in the kitchen, and was greeted with shakes of the head in stereo. "If it was Kyōko, that would be one thing, but Shizuki-san doesn't make a habit of running off." Mami ignored the raspberry she was getting from the redhead, and instead chuckled as Charlotte raised her hand.

"Well, me and Cirno were planning on getting out of the Mansion for a while anyway, we could go look for her."

"That would be a good-" Mami began to speak, but Charlotte was already out the door as soon as she heard the answer wasn't going to be "no". Favoring the situation with an indulgent smile, Mami then said "It is good to see Charlotte-san is still able to act her age."

"You're not worried about what might happen to her? I mean, I get the impression Icicles and her gang aren't very well liked around here, and that was before she went, um . . . " Kyōko trailed off

"I believe the term you are looking for is 'bat-shit crazy' there Kyōko. And since when have you had trouble telling it like it is, anyway?" Sayaka looked Kyōko over intently, making sure there were no alien brainleeches or anything of the sort on her.

"Hey, bite me, Blueberry- gahh!" Kyōko squealed as Sayaka grabbed her arm and sized it up for a mouthful. "Anyway, as I was saying," growled Kyōko after snatching her arm back, "I guess all this fighting and political- er, shit, has made me feel the need to buck up a bit more, although apparently this is the wrong crowd for that," Kyōko punctuated her statement by wiping the spit on her arm off on Sayaka's sleeve, which in turn brought a squall of displeasure from the blunette.

* * *

"Alright, up 'n at em, you lazy oafs! We got stuff to do!" Charlotte stood way the hell back as Cirno roused the rest of her gang to wakefulness. True to her word, Remilia had given the Nineballs sanctuary, even though the room they had been given looked more like a closet than a bedroom. Still there were plenty of futons, pillows, and blankets on hand, if only because Sakuya Izayoi knew the Nineballs would raid other parts of the Mansion for what they felt they needed otherwise.

"Ngaa . . . what the hell, 's still light out. Too early to be up!" Mystia tried to re-wrap herself in a blanket, but that was snatched from her grasp by Cirno.

"Yeah, and some of us can't see in the dark, so move your butts!"

"What're you talking about, you come out on night capers all the time!" replied the furious sparrow youkai.

"I was referring to Rumia, genius!" The retort earned Cirno a pillow in the face, but before the other girls could gang pile on, Wriggle held up a fist.

"Whoa, wait, stop for a sec. Cirno, say that again!"

"What? I said 'Rumia can't see in the dark,' which is true. What's the big deal?"

"Yeah, no, I get that. (Sorry Rumia, but you know it's true)." Wriggle added the aside in when she noticed the little darkness youkai getting steamed up enough to start throwing bullets. "But when did Cirno stop saying 'Eye' like a little kid who was dropped on her head too many times?"

"Hey, choke on it, Lightbulb, there's nothing wrong with the way I uhhh-" Cirno stumbled over her words as she heard the difference herself for the first time.

"Well, the Soul Gem is supposed to repair minor defects in the host body, but this would be the first time I've heard of it fixing a _personality_ defect!" Charlotte added her two yen to the conversation, and now it was Cirno who looked hot under the collar.

"Ooh, you! I'm gonna get you for this!" Cirno burst forward in a headlong charge, but Charlotte wasn't fazed in the slightest, especially since she saw Rumia's foot had been placed in a very convenient location. Sure enough, Cirno tripped over the offending appendage which turned her charge into something of a sprawl. Charlotte sidestepped just a bit and clasped one of Cirno's flailing arms, using the momentum to pirouette the ice fairy around herself and dump her onto a futon, and Charlotte herself fell in afterward, pouncing and pinning Cirno to the mattress.

"Okay guys, where's her weak spots?" asked Charlotte, and the other girls quickly reduced Cirno to a squealing, giggling wreck as they helpfully "demonstrated" what the best ways were to send the ice fairy into overload. Of course, Cirno was fighting back, and then Mystia "accidentally" grazed Rumia's side, and the whole matter dissolved into a maniac free-for-all until everyone was too out of breath to be able to do any more damage.

"Hey, I think the new girl's gonna work out!" said Wriggle, once she could breathe again. "So anyway, what was this about stuff to do?"

"Yeah- yeah, in a minute. Eye want you to know. . . hah . . . Eye hate all of you right now!" said Cirno, still gasping for breath.

"Oops, 'Eye' think we broke her," said Mystia.

"Shaddup!"

* * *

Marisa looked at the sullen sky with a glum expression. She was leaned against a pillar in the atrium of the mall, amazed and not a little disturbed by the sheer immensity of the structure. _Geez, I thought Eientei was big. Scarlet Devil Mansion was big, well on the inside at least, ze. But this, this is _big. _Who in their right mind would want to live here? Brrr, and it's chilly, too. _There was a chill in the air as in the rain outside and it seemed to be seeping into Marisa's soul. The magician stood in the middle of the tumultuous throngs of the crowd, wearing a borrowed set of clothing and feeling utterly lost. Strangely, for all the activity, the masses seemed to be no more pleased than Marisa was, as though the rain had washed away everyone's good cheer.

A tap on the shoulder spooked Marisa, and she whirled about to see Alice standing there, with her new treasure in hand, and a light in her eyes.

"So I don't quite understand half the things the salesminion said this device can do, but even so, what I have here will revolutionize our world! Amazing, to think the Outsiders have come so far, even without magic."

"Uh, yeah . . . " Marisa slipped a hand into her belt pouch, feeling about to make sure her own treasure was still secure. _Why the hell am I so nervous? It's just one little step forward, right? Yeah, that's it. And it's not like you're ever the bashful one. You're Marisa Kirisame, world-renowned for charging in headfirst and never worrying about the consequences. So get set and charge already! _"Hey, can we, er, get out of here, go somewhere to talk-"

"Just a minute," replied Alice, silencing Marisa with a finger. "Aha! I did remember correctly! Hello, Homura-san," Alice already handled the phone like a native, instead of someone who had spent less than one full day in the 21st century.

_Huh._ Marisa felt a new finger of chill touch her, but she hardly noticed as the numbness set in. _So that's it. I shouldn't have expected her to need me as much as I need her. Ah well. As long as she's happy, I guess I can't say too much. Huh. I smell roses . . ._

* * *

Reimu's prayer session had rapidly devolved into a fretting session, and so she was quite relieved when none other than Koakuma came to tell her to come to the library for some good news. Remilia was there as well, and the Puella Magi had shown up as a group, probably less because of their keen interest in the Outside World and more because there was little to do in the Mansion except sit in skull-numbing boredom since everyone else was busy.

"Yes, you may all breathe a sigh of relief, I have successfully done the impossible, and done so in the space of a single evening," said Patchouli in more of a croak than a voice. The sorceress fanned out a small stack of what looked to be very unusual Spellcards. "This method isn't perfect, nor is it foolproof, so your black-white bother may be stuck Outside for a time yet-"

"And Kyōko is probably stuck here forever," said Sayaka in a stage whisper.

"Oh put a sock in it, Blueberry!" To Sayaka's raised eyebrow, Kyōko then added, "Well, you were taking things literally earlier, I wanted to see how long that would last." Instead of further replying when Sayaka gave her a raspberry, Kyōko snatched one of the "brain food" pastries off the table. The roll was stale from sitting out all night, but that didn't put even close to the worse half of things Kyōko had eaten during her vagabond days, and so it was gone before Patchouli even resumed talking.

"If you are _quite_ finished," replied the angry magician, arcs of electricity crackling between her fingers. "These cards will facilitate teleportation. They work on the Spellcard system, so if you haven't managed to get on-board with that yet, do so. Bear in mind also that since they are Spellcards, they will count against you within a declared duel, and could be countered. Lastly, you need a specific familiar and stationary target to teleport to, and you yourself cannot be in motion when you activate the card. For those of you unfamiliar with the mechanics of matter translocation, this last restriction is a universal one; failure to ensure these conditions results in what is called a 'traumatic loss of physical integrity'."

"That sounds . . . bad." said Kyōko, around a mouthful of pastry.

"It seems even a fool can state the obvious. Should you screw up and get 'splinched', to use a vulgar colloquialism, I hope you are on good terms with the gods of the Underworld, for only divine intercession will save you at that point."

"So if we mess up, Komachi's getting another mouthful of fist, got it." smirked Kyōko. Patchouli coughed when she heard this, trying not to choke on her own disbelief, while Reimu just sighed and cradled her forehead in the manner of one with a powerful headache coming on.

"Here's a question, if I may?" Sayaka interjected, shoving another pastry at Kyōko in an effort to keep the redhead from making things any worse. "Could you reverse one of these cards, so that you could summon people to your location, rather than teleporting out?"

"Well, you could, but I don't see the point, you could only summon someone with whom you were quite familiar, and even then they would have to be willing, else they could resist or bomb out of it. Honestly it would only be good for pulling a few companions to your position . . . " Patchouli trailed off as she began to realize the implications, and then a literal exclamation point popped up over her head as she put it together, although that was perhaps the doing of Koakuma, who was only slightly trying to hide the fact she had snapped out a conjuration cantrip.

"If you included a linking invocation here, and channeled the extra mana into the counteraction effect, so that it warded enough area for the arrivals . . . " Patchouli wandered over to her desk, muttering over one of the cards the whole time, while Koakuma rolled her eyes.

"Oh great, here we go again. This time, you get to be the guinea pig, okay?"

"Sure thing, whatever you say." Sayaka was grinning as she took a handful of cards off the stack with one hand, while punching the speed-dial button on her phone with the other.

_"Hold on a moment, please."_ said Homura across the phone line. Alice took the phone away from her ear and stared bemused at the device as she was disconnected and then almost immediately it began chirping at her. Alice growled under her breath and mashed the "answer" key- she understood enough about the technology to know _what_ was happening, but not _why_ Homura had felt the need to drop her so abruptly.

"Hello?" said the puppeteer in a pleasant tone of voice, not giving vent to her impatience.

"_Good, you got the connection. Go ahead._" Homura said across the line. Before Alice could decipher the message, another voice came on the line.

"_Guess what? Patchy says we're in business! I'll be coming over in a minute to deliver the good so you can get back, and Reimu says the others are gonna be arriving soon._" Sayaka's announcements brought a smile to Alice's face. _Finally, things are falling into place._

"Excellent. Hey, Marisa . . . " Alice trailed off as she realized Marisa was no longer standing next to her. The magician threw out a simple divination, more annoyed that Marisa would wander off than anything, but what she sensed cause a chill to creep up her spine. "Shit!" exclaimed Alice.

"_What? What happened?!_" came several voices at once from the phone, startled by the vehemence of the curse.

"It seems I have swapped Witches," muttered Alice. When blurts of confusion shot from the phone, she added, "Marisa has gone missing and unless you sent Hina as a courier, there's also one of your Witches in the area."

"_Shit!_" hissed a voice on the line.

"Indeed." was Alice's reply.

"_Where are you at? We're on our way to help!_"

"Main atrium of the Mall. Head toward the Witch, that's where I will be." Alice smashed the call end button with far more anger than the calm, cool expression on her face would have suggested. She turned and began to follow the trail of the monster in their midst.

* * *

"You know the meeting is supposed to start soon, right?" Charlotte shouted over the howling winds. She and Cirno were zooming around at treetop level, searching for any sign of Hitomi. The rest of the Nineballs had been less than enthusiastic about the search, especially when they learned of the possibility that their target might be defended. _'Eye' love the gang,_ thought Cirno, trying to force her internal voice at least to stay the way it used to be. _But yeah, they woulda been more trouble than anything. Oh well._ Cirno rolled to her left then cut back sharply in a maneuver which was good enough to shake even the likes of Reimu occasionally, but Charlotte was too swift with her new flight powers to be fooled. That and hearing Cirno's plans via her empathy didn't hurt either. On any other day, the fact that one of the Puella Magi had mastered the power of unaided flight would be something noteworthy, possibly even shocking to the Gensokyan crew, but today it simply removed a minor inconvenience from a schedule of major ones.

"You know we're not gonna find her like this, right?" Cirno shouted back when Charlotte had caught up once more. "If she was smart, she ducked in to Human Village, or broke into Alice's pad for a place to hole up overnight. The wilds aren't nice at night. I should know, I help make 'em that way!" Cirno had a broad grin on her face as she said this, which earned her a glare. "Course if she was _smart_, she would'na run away in the first place!"

"Then why-" Charlotte started to shout again, then shook her head. _Then why are we out here?!_

_Whoa, what the hell?_ Cirno radiated shock over the empathic link.

_Empathic link, remember? Were you paying attention at all when we were explaining how all this works._

_Yeah, yeah, sure I was._

_YOU BRAT!_ Charlotte wound up and slung her yo-yo at Cirno, but the ice fairy looped out of the attack and blew a slobbery raspberry at her attacker.

_'The focal point of a Puella Magi's existence, literally, is her Soul Gem. This device contains the girl's mortal soul and her magic. The Soul Gem must remain within a specific radius, 100 meters, give or take, of the host body. . .' and so on and so on. You guys can sure blabber on when you wanna._

_Well, it's important. You screw up now and you won't resurrect._

_Yeah, sure, unless you get the crazy fuzzball to fix everything. Ha! I gotcha there, don't I!_

_Maybe. We still don't know where the limits of Nova's powers lie, I mean she's out-and-out cheating the laws of nature. How long before that comes back to bite her on the ass? Or better yet, since it's connected to her wish, how long before she knows all of us well enough that it no longer works?_

_Jeez, sorry, I was just trying to make a joke._

_Yeah, I know, and I appreciate the attempt. It's just something that's been on my mind a bunch, especially since I owe my whole _existence_ to her mucking with reality like she does. _Charlotte shook her head, throwing off the line of conversation with a will. _So, why are we out here?_

_Ya never know, we might get lucky and find your idiot. But I kinda like hanging out with ya, figured we could play a bit more before being stuffed in with all the windbags._

_Whatd'ya mean, play?_

_What what do I mean? Do ya want me to mean something by it?_

_I- _Charlotte let out a sigh. _Never mind. I think I'm reading too much into it._ The peach-haired girl looked up after a minute of silence had passed to see Cirno "lounging" on her back while flying, staring back at Charlotte.

"Well, are ya gonna spill, or what? Don't leave me hangin' here, especially if you're gonna hang it _on_ me."

". . . alright. You know how our wishes give us some general-purpose powers, a weapon, and then some other tricks, that are based on what we wished for?"

"I already said I was paying attention last night, dummy!" Cirno crossed her arms and pouted.

"Hey, shove off, it's part of the story! Anyway, Mami's special trick is her binding ribbons, and Nova's is giving reality a headache. Well mine is listening, sorta. I can hear peoples thoughts, like as if I was linked to 'em even when I'm not, and I can hear stuff over the link a lot farther away and a lot stronger than everyone else. Save it," Charlotte added when she saw Cirno have a "eureka!" moment and hold up a finger. "Actually, Nova can hear people too, kinda, only it's more like she can just tell what a person's feelings are from the outside."

"So you're like a Satori and a Miko, got it."

"A what and a who?"

"Y'know Satori, pink-haired creep with the extra eyeball on her shirt, she has the bird-bitch and the cat-bitch for pets? She's a mind-reader, just peels your thoughts right out of your head. It sucks."

"Oh, her, yeah I think I saw her talking to Reimu and Sayaka when I came down for breakfast. She looked really pissed."

"Mind reader, in the same building as all of us freaks and your freaks, and the SDM crew are already freaks." Cirno rattled off the facts like they should be patently obvious, which startled her even as Charlotte was nodding agreement. "Wait, how'd I just do that?"

"Just do what?" asked Charlotte.

"Uh, well I know Satori, kinda, but not well enough to just take her apart like that. It's like I know what her problem is, and how to make it worse if I wanted."

"Aaand now we know what your secondary is." To Cirno's questioning look, Charlotte added, "You said you wished for the strength to beat your enemies, right? Well your wish is interpreting that as 'how can I beat someone, given what I know about them', or something like that. Once you know how a person works, your magic will fill in their strengths and weaknesses."

"Ooh, really?" Cirno's eyes lit up with devious delight. "Coooool!"

"No, you may not use this newfound power to go on an epic pranking spree, no matter how legendary and awesome it might be." Charlotte rolled her eyes at Cirno's heavily exaggerated display of sadness and begging at her pronouncement. "One, it will probably burn up your Soul Gem, and remember that's a limited supply, and two Reimu will probably kick your ass for doing so. Also, shrine maiden seals will lock out the Soul Gem, and then you go flop, just like if you're out of range."

"Yuck, that sucks! Why do these things have to be so fragile, anyway?"

"Because the Incubators want us to fail and die," grumbled Charlotte in reply.

"Well they fucking suck! How soon can we off them for good?" snarled Cirno with surprising anger.

"We're working on it. They are kinda a whole alien race, so it's gonna take some doing."

"Yeah, well, they just made their worst enemy ever! Cuz I'm the strongest in the whole world, and I'm gonna show 'em what's business!" Charlotte almost fell out of the sky laughing as Cirno smacked one fist into the palm of her other hand, deadly serious. "Wait, where were we again?" Charlotte made a great spectacle out of rolling her eyes at the ice fairy.

"Well, we were talking about what your secondary power is because we discovered it while you were explaining who Satori and Miko were, not that you actually finished with that, and before that I was explaining my secondary because it related to why I was reading too much into the situation earlier and-" A resounding _BOOM_ interrupted Charlotte, and wisps of dark smoke began to rise in the distance. "-now, things are exploding. Great. And- hey, wait! Where are you going!" Indeed, Cirno was already charging headlong toward the rising smoke, much to Charlotte's dismay.

"Where d'ya think I'm going? Where all the action is! C'mon!" Charlotte shook her head and dove after the vexing ice fairy, stretching out with her empathic link to its' maximum extent in the hopes that Hitomi was in some way involved with the pyrotechnics. _Whoa! That's . . . weird, and yet familiar. Nova? No, can't be. Wha~! No way!_

"Cirno, watch out!" Charlotte threw on a burst of speed, and her Puella Magi regalia burst into being as she broke through the treetops and into a firefight. Most noticeable amongst all the beams and bullets were not one, two, but three forest fairies who had earned the Warlock treatment. Cirno heard her companion's distress through the link and examined the wretches who had fallen into the Overseer's clutches, but she dismissed them once she realized that none of the three were anyone she personally knew. But then, Cirno had to take a second look as the full horror of what she was seeing sunk in. The Grief Seeds didn't produce the webbed iron armor the Puella Magi were used to seeing, but instead partially masked the fairies' faces in poisonous black steel and their wings had been replaced by terrible blades. One thing these abominations had in common with the Warlocks from Outside was the amount of firepower they had on hand- they appeared to originally have been just common fairies of the kind you couldn't swing a Master Spark around without tagging a dozen or more, but each one was hurling out enough danmaku to make Marisa herself jealous.

What was truly shocking however, was what the fairies were attacking. Cirno gazed on in openmouthed shock as an Incubator was blown into scraps of fluff by one barrage. Homing-type shots weaved around the base of a large tree, throwing up another large explosion from which chunks of Reductor-fluff rained down. The attack spooked more of the creatures from their cover, and a wave of the sinuous and spiky fiends swarmed toward the fairies. Bullets shredded the Reductors by the dozen, but Charlotte already knew what was going to happen. Incubators were cautious about taking injuries only because revealing their true nature had a tendency to disturb potential contractees; Reductors possessed no such sentiment, and one of the Warlocks was carried down by a weight of bodies. A harsh squealing noise filled the clearing, of teeth chewing on metal, and moments later Cirno spotted the characteristic vapors of a fairy giving up its' essence.

"Holy hellsickles! What's going on there?!" Cirno pulled up short before the Reductors decided to add her to the menu. It was mostly a rhetorical question, which is why the answer came as a total surprise.

_**The damned and the lost are receiving their just due.**_ A beam of utter darkness cracked across the way, leaving searing afterimages of the venomous shadow in Cirno's vision, while the fairy struck by the beam disintegrated in a puff of vapors. The source of the beam was a shadow of terror half-hidden among the trees, fronted by the form of a man carved and dressed in fathomless black. **_Ragnarok comes for all those who stray from the one true path. Come and face judgment, or flee and await your end in terror, your ultimate fate shall be the same._** Another beam lanced out and blew away the last of the fairies, and then the shadow retreated and the Reductors followed. _**I shall capture**_** all_ you deviants and rebels_****,**_** and your fall shall hasten my ascension!**_

"Eye think Eye'm gonna be sick!" exclaimed Cirno, wobbling her way to altitude. "Those beams, they're bad news, like the worst thing in the world. How can he do that?"

"I'm not sure I want to know." Charlotte shivered, for she could hear what Cirno couldn't say, and even before that, she had recognized the nature of the beam; it was the corruption from a Soul Gem, concentrated into a weapon that could slay anything that ever had been alive with one solid touch. Even now, the grasses in the clearing and the trees in front of which the fairies had been floating were beginning to brown and wilt. "Come on, let's get back to the Mansion, the others will want to hear about this."

"Yeah, I suppose so."

* * *

A predator stalked through the throngs of people in the Mitikahara Mall, and they remained unaware of the danger only by virtue of not being targeted. Cold malice and lethality cloaked the predator as the prey's actions gave it away. What normally gave the prey strength, made it a predator in its' own right, here only served to draw the other predator to it. Ordinary people shivered and unconsciously shied away from the area that was soon to be a battleground; they were not aware of the supernatural powers among them, but they could feel the negative energies gathering and instinctively fled. That left only the extraordinary, those who had been both blessed and cursed by magic.

"Hold up." The voice interrupted Alice as she was pondering whether to blast through the Witch's Barrier, or _blast_ through it, the major difference being only in the radius of destruction beyond. Alice looked up to see Homura looking typically grim and Madoka looking typically flustered. "I believe the saying is, three heads are better than one."

"Indeed," replied Alice, but a hand landed upon her shoulder as she turned to make for the Barrier once more. The look which was turned in Homura's direction was nothing short of murderous.

"My apologies, but you have steered me fairly and well when I was dangerously foolish of late, and I wished to return the favor. Clear your head, Alice Margatroid, if you go in their in your current state, you stand to lose everything.

"So noted. And, thank you. I realized I had not been paying enough attention. Marisa has not taken to the Outside as well as I, and if a Youkai can let her moods get the better of her, I have no right to ask a Human to do what I myself cannot."

"Nobody can avoid all the pitfalls in life," replied Madoka. "But we can make friends so they can pull us out, right?"

"Exactly. Although with Marisa you tend to need anchor chain and not just rope." said Alice with just a bit of a smile on her face as she stepped through the Barrier. Madoka and Homura followed close behind. Stepping into the cut-paper madness of the Barrier set both Puella Magi on edge, but neither could put her finger on why as they ventured into the writhing garden presented to them. A mustachioed puffball popped up in front of the party, looking harmlessly goofy until it bared teeth and leaped for Alice. The Familiar exploded in midflight, and the source of the unease hit Homura at the same time as the pistol casing hit the ground.

"Getrud. What in hell?"

* * *

"So, we have Witches appearing again." Sayaka squeezed her phone in a white-knuckled grip, to the point where Kyōko expected the blunette might shatter the device in a 21st Century take on shooting the messenger. "Damnit, and damn them too."

"Alright, out with it Fluffernutter, you're angsting hard enough for us thick-headed types to hear it." Kyōko bonked Nova on the nose for emphasis, and was rewarded with the sight of her long white sidelocks flapping back and forth as Nova tried to shake some sense back into her brain.

"I just don't get it. This shouldn't be happening."

"Well, we have plenty of proof the Overseer is a jerk, so I don't see-"

"That's the thing though, creating Witches isn't part of an Overseer's functions!" Nova threw up her hands, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Each part of the Project is specialized for its' own purpose. Incubators make contracts and collect Grief Seeds. Nobody else can touch 'em but us and Processors. Reductors and Purifiers are the only ones who can fight. You only see Witches spawned when a Surveyor prepares a world for harvest. There shouldn't be Surveyors unless the Communion declared Earth sound for harvest once more, and that can't be, because the one Overseer currently riding our asses would have to have gone home to vote in the Communion, and it takes a unanimous vote to proceed. And if _that's_ the case, why would he be using Witches against us?"

"Maybe they have decided to go back to normal, and they're hoping the Witches finish us off. I mean, it's what I would do," said Kyōko, which earned her a round of dirty looks.

"Maybe . . . " Nova perked up a moment later, turning to look away from the rest of the group. "I hear Charlotte. She's wound up about something, is it too much to hope that she has good news?"

"Yes," came three voices in reply simultaneously.

A minute later, Charlotte and Cirno burst into the room at full tilt, both trying to say everything at once. Sayaka rolled her eyes and forcibly sat the two girls onto a couch.

"Sit down, shut up, and start again when you can actually say what you're saying, okay?" After Sayaka stepped back, Mami provided tea as a more polite way to get the searchers calm enough to speak. Charlotte dropped a sugar in her tea and drank, and Cirno did the same, but only after glaring at her cup until it frosted over.

"Okay, so we were looking for Hitomi, and then there was this explosion. We went to go check it out, and we found some fairies who had been Warlocked! But wait, it gets worse." Charlotte held up a hand to forestall the wave of shock which her comment was sure to cause. "The fairies were shooting up some of the Purifiers' guys, Incubators and the nasty burnt-looking ones too. And then this guy who called himself Ragnarok-" Here Charlotte was interrupted, and there was no way she could have stopped it, as Nova let out an exclamation best decribed as "Eeeeeee!" and fell off her chair. The former Incubator had gone as white as her hair, and it took several minutes before the Puella Magi could snap her out of her state.

"A-are you sure this thing was called Ragnarok?" Nova asked when she was able to speak once more. "Really, really sure?"

"Yeah. Sorry," replied Charlotte, looking glum.

"Well, that's it then, we're screwed. Game. Over."

"Nova, dear, if I may be so impolite, but you've said that every time something goes wrong," said Mami, with wry cheer in her voice.

"Yeah, but this time it's for real. Ragnarok- the Endbringer, would be the proper job title, it assimilates what we know of a species' mythology in order to cast itself as a specter of dread. The Endbringer is just that, it's the end, when the Communion decides something endangers the very continuation of the Project. Last time an Endbringer was authorized, we were in a shooting war, I mean full-on alien space armada looking to nuke us out of existence. There is nothing the Endbringer can't do. At all."

"Well, that explains the Witches then," said Sayaka. When the dirty looks turned in her direction, the blunette stood her ground. "Well, it does!"

"Witches are easy, where an Endbringer is concerned. Almost too easy. The thing is like a living wish, you could say." Nova stood, shaky, and made for the door. "I'm sorry, everybody, but I- I need some time. I promise I won't do anything stupid or crazy. I just need to process all this." The other Puella Magi nodded, but Nova was already out the door. The ex-Incubator let her feet wander while her mind reeled, and after a short time, she found herself in the back garden. Seeing Remilia's parasol casting midnight shadow in the midst of the bright afternoon brought a harsh bark of laughter from Nova's lips.

"Well, isn't that just the perfect metaphor?" Nova muttered as she plopped down in a chair within the darkness. Strangely enough, it was still perfectly light under the parasol, even though it was at the same time dark. Nova intentionally didn't ponder how the parasol worked, for fear of getting further twisted into knots.

Don't give up hope.

"Huh? Who said that?" The voice from nowhere startled Nova, and she reflexively palmed her Soul Gem.

Don't be afraid. I don't wish you harm.

"Okay? Would you mind stepping out so I can see you then?"

I cannot. This is all you get, I'm afraid.

"Oh. Sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel bad,"

Not to worry. Think of me as your very own real-life imaginary friend!

"Um, thanks? I guess?"

Anytime. I'm glad we could be friends, we outcasts need to stick together.

"I suppose. Wait, what'd'ya mean, outcast? I have my friends, even if I seem to only bring them pain."

I could hear it in your voice, when you talked about your Incubators and your Overseer. I know that pain, for the same pain scars my heart.

"Oh. I'm sorry. This is not something I would wish on anyone."

Would you like to talk about it?

"I guess. Hey, I'm not going crazy, am I?" _And if the empty air answers, is that proof for or against the crazy theory?_ Nova mused.

No more than is necessary to survive here in Gensokyo.

"Oh, well that's good, I suppose." In short strokes, Nova began to lay out the story of her transformation, her new goal in life, the coming of the Purifiers, and the current doom hanging over her head.

"And I guess it's like my friends are all I have left, and I don't know how I would survive if anything were to happen to any of them, and yet, they're more than likely to get killed, and it will be my fault! I wish . . . I wish I could take back my wish!"

Please, don't say such a thing!

"Why not? I don't know how to bear this pain!"

I didn't either. And I made a terrible mistake. I ended up making myself numb not just to the pain, but to everything.

"I'm sorry, that sounds horrible."

I'm not sad about it.

"That's good to hear, at least."

That's my point. I'm not sad about what I lost, or anything. I have no love, but also no pain. Every day is exactly the same. So while it hurts, as long as the flames of your passions still burn, you should nurture them.

"I have to ask, are you, uh, a ghost?"

I don't know. If I can't see or be seen any more, does it matter if I am alive or dead?

"Yeah! It does matter! As long as you're still alive, you can still change your fate."

But didn't you say you could change things that others couldn't, even death?

"I can, for right now, but I don't like relying on it. I have given out these poison gifts, these wishes, for so long, and yet I don't understand how they work at all."

A wish . . . that sounds nice. I wish-

"Stop! Please!" Nova actually jammed her fingers in her ears as she cried out. "Sorry, but please don't say that around me. It's something I figured out after transforming, that I haven't told anyone else, because I've been afraid of the consequences, but here it is: If a person makes a wish before me, I mean really and truly offers up a wish, the contract _will_ happen. I can no more control if a contract is granted than I can pull the sun from the sky with my bare hands."

Don't worry, I will keep safe this knowledge which you have given me. Your friends are probably expecting you, but know this, Nova Floresca; you are never alone.

"Thank you."

* * *

"You're going to wear a hole in my carpet if you keep doing that," said Remilia. The Scarlet Devil was watching Reimu as the shrine maiden paced furiously back and forth in the entrance hall of the Mansion.

"So put it on Yukari's tab! She owes me a new shrine, she can spring for one lousy carpet on top!" Reimu snapped, to which Remilia merely chuckled, which in turn caused the shrine maiden's temper to spike higher.

"In truth, I could care less about the carpet. However, have you heard the saying 'to thine own self, be true'? Where is the carefree and lazy Hakurei Shrine Maiden we all know and love?"

"Bludgeoned into a coma and locked in the basement, it would appear." replied Satori, before Reimu could come up with suitable reply. "This is the real Reimu Hakurei we are seeing, goaded from her lair. While we are bandying about tired phrases, I believe the one most pertinent for your situation, Remilia, would be 'you break it, you bought it'."

"Was there a point to this, Satori, and if not, do you need me to provide one?" Reimu snarled out, glad to have a ready target for her frustrations.

"Yes, I do have a point, no you do not need to unlimber Gungir, and yes I did allow you to actually have your side of the conversation for once. I can be nice, when I want to be. My point is, since I can hear your plan as though it were being shouted in my ear, you are either tremendously ambitious or thoroughly crazy, and you would do well to figure out which is the case and make your pitch to your coming guests accordingly." Satori paused to permit Reimu to absorb the rapid-fire barrage of information. "For what it is worth, I hope you succeed, and you have my unreserved support in your venture." Satori gave a short bow before retreating.

"Um, thanks," Reimu stammered out a reply. ". . . wait, did she actually say she _likes_ my idea? She wants to _help?_"

"It does seem that way," replied Remilia. "Either we have entered the End Times, or perhaps your idea actually has merit."

"Gee, thanks. I think."

* * *

_Yep, I screwed this one up._ Marisa had awoken from her trance into a full-fledged nightmare of blood-hungry thorns and cackling demonic puffballs. _And mustaches. Why'd it have to be mustaches, ze?_ Marisa grumbled to herself as she rolled out of the way of yet another lethal strike. The fact that she had fallen under the Witch's spell was bad enough, but there was worse in the magician's mind.

_If I really couldn't give Alice more credit than that, maybe I shouldn't escape from here._ Marisa was too unschooled in the way of the Witches to know that such black thoughts, expressed inside the Barrier, were meat and drink for the abomination running the show. She was however well aware of the sudden surge of aggression from the monstrous multitudes. In reply, Marisa snapped out a new attack pattern she had been working on for a while, one that evoked a pentagram-shaped wall of stars about her and then the device spun in place, hurling the bullets in all directions. One part Chen, one part Non-directional Laser, the attack bought a few seconds' respite from the horde, but it was not sufficient to win her freedom.

Angelhair wire sang a sharp cord as it rent a tangle of vines into chopped salad. Alice staked her place with the Barrier with a barrage of searing light, and the whole of the Witch's realm seemed to shudder before her wrath. Familiars poured out from every bramble and behind every plane of the Barrier and rushed to dispose of the new intruder. These puffballs were met by a veritable phalanx of Shanghai dolls and the two forces met with a tiny but impressive crash of bodies against shields. For a moment, the two sides were even, then upon a silent command the dolls surged with aggression and drove back their foe, opening a path of clear ground for Alice to pass.

"You actually came for me," said Marisa, her tone not quite believing.

"Of course I did. I could not leave you here like this." Alice extended her hand and pulled Marisa to her feet. "They have a way for us to go home now, and there I can make amends."

"W-what for?"

"For letting my desires eclipse your needs, and for letting you be taken by such despair." Marisa started to speak, but she could not find words. At that moment one of the Shanghai phalanx reported in with a mustache draped over its' shoulders as a battle trophy, and the incongruous sight caused Marisa and Alice both to break out in laughter which cleared the air. At the same time however, the influx of positive emotions enraged the Witch, and Gurtrud burst in to punish her would-be victims. Both the Gensokyans and the Puella Magi scattered and took up arms as the real battle began.

* * *

Sakuya appeared just long enough to inform Reimu that the first of the guests were at the door, which caused the shrine maiden to fall into a sort of furious calm- her mind was running too high a tilt to waste the synapses on nervous tics or fidgeting. Byakuren was the first to arrive, as Reimu had asked, but she also brought a complication with her, which Reimu had most definitely not asked for. That complication was none other than Toyosatomimi no Miko, who appeared to be acting as Byakuren's aide instead of Shou or Murasa as Reimu had expected. Reimu raised an eyebrow at Miko, but all she got in return was an amused grin.

"Might I be excused, _Sensei_?" said Miko, being polite unto the point of sarcasm.

"Yes, by all means. Go and enjoy yourself." replied Byakuren, which netted a curtsey from the "student", who then trotted off to investigate the operation.

"Okay, what the hell?" asked Reimu as soon as she saw Miko strike up a conversation with Sakuya, knowing that "out of earshot" would take some long-distance flying to accomplish where the Taoist with the clever ears was concerned.

"We have been having some . . . philosophical discussions, and Miko has taken to playing up the _kohai_ to annoy me, so in turn I have found it best to play along with the gag, as it annoys her more than it does me."

"That's all well and good, but why bring her in the first place?"

"Miko-chan has been arguing for a chance to redeem herself, and considering the goals you have for this endeavor, both the stated and the unstated, I felt she would be a natural fit."

"I . . . see. Well, can't hurt I suppose." Reimu frowned. "And how in Shinki's smoking Hell does everyone know what I'm really planning?"

"I guarantee you not everyone is aware of your aims, Reimu, only those of us who share your dream, and would have recommended you be exalted to lead, had we had the courage to front this plan ourselves. I believe you will find that even Yukari differs only in degree, not in substance with your aims."

"Yeah, well, a few degrees can make a big difference," grumbled Reimu for want of something to say. Byakuren's words were still too surprising for her to digest properly. _You would pick _me_ for this? If anything I was kinda hoping _you_ would take up the cause._

"Oh, I completely agree that diverging means can entirely alter the outcome, which is why we are almost certainly going to gift unto Yukari, as my companion would put it, 'a righteous ass-whoopin'. I suspect Lady Yakumo has been in need of what we are about to provide for some time, and might even thank us when all is said and done."

"Uh-huh, sure. Stay out of the sacramental sake in the meantime."

* * *

Miko marched through the room looking like she intended to conquer and lay claim to the space, which caused Sakuya to intercept the Taoist. Putting aside her usual cool politeness, the head maid cut right to the point. "I was unaware you were fighting for the forces of good now," said Sakuya, to which Miko gave a grin that bared sharp teeth, and Sakuya grimaced- the smile reminded her of Rumia, that the girl would actually try to take a bite out her if given half a chance.

"Oh, I haven't gone over, although the Youchrist has made some, ahem, 'passionate' arguments as to why I should reform my ways. But I hear there's a cracking good fight on, and I'll be damned . . . again . . . if I let a chance like this slip by. Think how much my legend would grow if I was the one to get the killing blow on Yukari Yakumo!" Any further banter was preempted by the arrival of the next "guest".

"_You!_ Reimu Hakurei, this is absurd!" Eiki Shiki marched into the room to a small chorus of groans, looking exceptionally militant even by the standards of the Yama. Komachi was following behind, looking both bemused and embarrassed, the latter on behalf of her boss. "While I am glad to see that you have finally started to take your purpose seriously, to pick a target such as the Yakumo to prove your worth as a youkai exterminator is overcompensation in the extreme, and furthermore, it is unseemly to drag us away from our duties in order to witness your attack. Unseemly!" Komachi twirled her finger by her ear, indicating what she though of the Yama's problems and began to sidestep away from the fuming judge as she wound up for another tirade, but Reimu stepped up and silenced Eiki.

"That's the thing of it though, you said I was not doing an acceptable job as youkai exterminator, and you're right, if you choose for that to be your measure. But the fact is, I'm _not_ a youkai exterminator. Leave that sort of thing to Byakuren or Marisa-"

"Bedding youkai is hardly what I would call extermination!" snapped the Yama. Reimu filed that bit of information under "D" for "Don't wanna know" and pushed forward again.

"Ether way, that's not my purpose," replied the shrine maiden.

"Then by all means, enlighten me! What is your so-called purpose, in your mind?"

"Well that's what you're here to find out, which you shall when the meeting begins."

"And when, pray tell, will that be?"

"Why, when it begins!" replied Reimu taking a bit of guilty pleasure in the Yama's continued sputtering. "No offense, but I only want to have to do this once, if possible." Eiki scowled, but nodded her assent and headed off, likely in search of another sinner whose ear she could bend. _I wish Marisa was here, and for more than just to bait off the crazy bitch with the baton! I don't know how long I can keep all the crazies in one place, and that's just the crazies I asked for, let alone whomever Byakuren dug up!_

* * *

BGM: Syrufit - over - "Stray Child's Alice"

"This looks familiar," said Madoka as she and Homura jumped away from the Witch's reaching tendrils. Homura nodded assent and then drew forth a double-barreled shotgun and disintegrated about a cubic meter of plant life, momentarially halting the attack. Meanwhile Marisa was showing Gertrud what she thought of being ensnared with broad sprays of burning stars.

"It should. Gertrud is the Witch who attacked the day we . . . first met." The hitch in Homura's voice was impossible to cover over.

"I thought so," Madoka replied, and then she loosed a pair of broadhead shots to keep the flora at bay for a bit longer. "But Mami-san killed her. Why is she here again."

"I don't know how, but I have a very short list of 'who'."

"Ragnarok. Is there an end to his evil?" As a reply to Madoka's plea, Homura slammed a fresh magazine into her Beretta and racked the slide hard.

Alice and Marisa both threw themselves into the battle, weaving through the air as wave after wave after wave of thrashing tendrils struck out to try and obliterate them. It was certainly a familiar game, and Gertrud wasn't putting up anything as complex as say Flandre Scarlet in a plafyul mood, or even a Prismriver gig, but there was a difference to this fight- the "danmaku" being hurled by the Witch stuck around and kept twisting to strike them in a way unlike anything either magician had fought before. And then there was the fact that the only thing to be had from grazing these attacks was a bloody line of lacerations. Still, the fight was enough to make Marisa's heart leap for joy- it wasn't that she was bloodthirsty or anything like that, but entering the dance of the duel, with Alice at her side, was pretty close to Heaven in Marisa's eyes. _Heh, as close as I'll ever get, if Eiki-sama gets her way!_ Marisa gave a raspberry as her opinion of both the Witch and the Judge and swooped in for another pass as the joy of battle began to wash clean her heart.

Down on the ground, Homura was becoming concerned. Not because of the Witch- although this incarnation of Gertrud was much stronger than the original, which was worrysome enough. No, what caused an icy spike of worry to lodge in Homura's heart was what was happening beside her, as a seething black hate settled upon Madoka. Homura expected anger from her love- there were many times that Madoka's lighthearted raging at the follies of the other Puella Magi was only half in jest, or less. Anger or sorrow Homura could deal with, for even in those cycles where Madoka had been fully unleashed, where she tore down the Walpurgis in seconds and set the whole world to burn thereafter, there had always been a sharp pang of pity somewhere within. Not this time. Yesterday, Akiko had shown her heart to Madoka, and it had broken the Puella Magi, but if Gertrud did the same today, all she was going to get was a serrated broadhead buried as deep as Madoka's magic could drive it.

"Hey, are you okay?" Homura swept the local area clean with a double blast of shotshells, then she turned to Madoka. Epiphany clicked just as she set eyes upon the pink-haired girl. Gertrud_, Witch of the rose garden, whose nature is distrust, and who thrives upon the bad feelings she inflicts upon others._

"This is too cruel, to make this soul suffer being a Witch again. Homura-chan, we will _find_ Ragnarok and we will _erase_ him from existence. I don't care what it takes, okay?" Homura could only nod in reply, too shaken to speak because when she had turned to hear what Madoka had to say, for a moment Homura had been looking _Gretchin_ in the eye.

The slipping of Madoka's mask had not gone unnoticed by the Gensokyans, either, but in their case the results were far worse. "Holy hell!" cried Marisa and for a moment she looked away from the incoming attacks to see where that sudden wave of darkness had come from, and in that moment a branch walloped her, shredding Marisa's dress and hurling her from the sky. A glitter of gold caught Alice's attention, to which Shanghai shot over and revealed to be the object as a ring when she speared it. Alice let out a gasp when she realized what she had seen, and then the vines were upon her too. Homura bit back a curse and fumbled for a Spellcard to try and even things up. Even as she began to cast, though, Marisa rolled with the momentum of the crash and flipped to her feet.

"Okay, I give up. The endless waves of despair, the spoiling of the surprise I had in store for my girlfriend, the putting silly hats on statues, it's all your fault!" The Hakkero eye opened. "Now _bitch, GET OUTTA MY WAY!_" Marisa let loose her killing light, but it became just one voice in a chorus of power.

_Binary Sign ~ Unmerciful Malice_

Something suddenly overtook Homura's Spellcard as it began to activate, a touch of magic and emotions like the empathic link only so much more intense washed over her, and then a blast of grief, so deep and black that she thought for sure her Soul Gem would explode trying to cope with it all, but Homura wasn't receiving that grief. It was being given away.

_Eternal Sorrow Monument ~ Flowers of Flanders Fields_

The converging energies obliterated Gertrud's form, to be replaced by a tiny new star within the Barrier- her Grief Seed, which was glowing red-hot, then white-hot, then the artifact just exploded.

"Okay, what the hell was that, ze?!" Marisa was still wide-eyed as the Barrier fell away. Neither she nor Alice had been expecting to be one-upped on a technique which they still didn't themselves understand well enough to explain to others.

"You think that's bad, wait till you see Madoka _angry_," replied Homura, an impish grin on her face, if not in her heart.

"Uwaaah! Homuraaa-chan, that's mean!" Laughter lightened all the girls' spirits, but Homura casually laid a hand on Madoka's shoulder, so that only she could hear as the black-haired girl sent, _are you okay?_

_I-I think I will be, once Ragnarok is dead and gone. For good._

_Be careful, Madoka Kaname. Obsession is a hard road indeed. _Homura let her smile show a bit more. _And I should know, having some small experience with the phenomenon._

"So, can it be making-with-the-going-the-hell-home-time yet, ze?" asked Marisa after a moment had passed.

"Yes, I think it can."

* * *

"I have been awake for a day and a half straight working on this project, so I hope you appreciate it!" were the first words greeting the Outside team as they appeared within the Mansion, and they came from a very bleary and very irritable-looking Patchouli.

"Aww, did you miss me?" quipped Marisa, her spirits riding high now that she was back on the correct side of the Border.

"Hardly. I simply did not wish to have to go digging through that midden you call a house to retrieve my lost things!" Patchouli held her stern expression long enough for the others to know she was serious, and then softened. "However, it is good to have you back, if only to have more bodies among which to spread the vexation."

"Oh joy, what vexation?"

"Well, in summation: Reimu has pulled some trick from up her sleeve and this meeting is not what it appears, Byakuren brought Miko with her, and Eiki Shiki is already here, which in turn has caused the Mistress to barricade herself within her quarters. This in turn has put the shrine maiden under extra pressure as she has gone and taken the questionable step of becoming romantically involved with Remilia, and then-" A sudden fit of wheezing brought Patchouli's recitation to an end for the moment, leaving the girls to stare dumbfounded at the magician, trying to make her words make sense. After igniting a small paper packet and drawing in the vapors, Patchouli picked up where she left off. "And then, your Green Ogre has disappeared, probably captured, the white-hair is lost in a haze of angst after hearing about this Ragnarok character, and lastly, the Charlotte girl has become an honorary Nineball. Now if you will excuse me, I go to find my well-deserved rest."

"Ahh, it's so good to be home, isn't it?" said Alice in a sarcastic deadpan.

* * *

A/N: Two weeks ago, I was looking at the rough draft for this episode going, "where in hell am I gonna find enough stuff to fill out a whole episode?!", and now I had to punt the majority of the meeting back to the next episode just to get under 12k. The good news is that means the next episode should be coming soon! See ya in 2013!


	11. Philosophy of a Hated Person

**Episode 11: Philosophy of a Hated Person**

A knock upon the ornate paneled-walnut door brought only a muffled "go away" from within. Reimu rolled her eyes and weighed her options. Battering down the door by hand would take all day. _And Sakuya would probably be rather cross with me for making a bloody mess all over her nice clean Mansion. . . . jeez, I'm even starting to sound like her in my head. _"C'mon Remilia, it won't be that bad. Will you please come back downstairs?"

"I will not take another lecture from that awful person! Over my dead body!" A snort was the only warning given by Reimu before the shrine maiden broke down in laughter, slumping against the wall with a _thud_ as her legs gave out under the hilarity. Remilia ripped open the door and stuck her head out the door. "And just _what_ is so funny, dare I ask?!" Reimu took one look at the tiny avatar of rage standing there and lost what little composure she possessed, causing her to drop to the floor and quake with laughter.

"It's just- ah- one, that's why Eiki's being such a bitch! 'Over your dead body' is exactly what she wants, and since she'll never get that, she has to settle for venting her spleen here, where you can safely ignore her."

"Oh. Well, when you put it like that, I suppose it is rather funny." A half-smile cracked Remilia's face, although she attempted to keep a stern countenance. "And what was item two?" The Scarlet Devil offered a hand, and Reimu gladly took it. Back on her feet, the shrine maiden looked Remilia in the eye with mischief in her mind.

"And two," Reimu cupped Remilia's chin with one hand and gave her a quick kiss. Feeling the smaller girl melt into the embrace, the shrine maiden put the rest of her plan into motion. In a single dextrous motion Reimu pulled the door to the vampire's quarters shut and plastered an ofuda seal across the doorknob. "Two, that was too easy!"

"You! Faithless, conniving, treacherous wench! See if I ever permit you within mine household again!"

In another part of the mansion entirely, Satori glared at the wall. "Love is such a wretched thing," she muttered.

The playful interlude was over all too quickly, though, and nervous anticipation set Reimu's stomach to roiling as she and Remilia made to rejoin the gathering. Byakuren looked tremendously pleased to see the pair, which did nothing for Reimu's peace of mind.

"So, who all _is_ coming, if I dare ask?" was Reimu's opener when she reached the living saint.

"Well, I hope you approve, but I skipped the Celestials. There was a finite amount of time available to make the invitations, and I made the assumption that Tenshi would be low on your list of people you wanted to deal with. I was quite explicit however in explaining your needs, and I may have added that Myourin Temple would officially consider spurning you as to be spurning us as well. And I did make sure to remind everyone that promptness is a virtue, so we should be seeing arrivals any moment."

Considering the personalities involved, Reimu was fully expecting at least one danmaku duel to break out before the meeting had adjourned, but while the shrine maiden was talking to Byakuren, the first brawl was already brewing, and the conference wasn't even properly underway yet.

* * *

"Hey, Melons! What're you doing here?" Kyōko couldn't resist baiting Komachi when she saw the shinigami attempting to flatten herself into invisibility along one wall of the conference room. Sure enough, the mocking nickname drew Komachi's attention, and she sidled over to the Puella Magi contingent, running a thumb along the edge of her scythe to check for sharpness.

"I should ask you the same question, Dogmeat," replied Komachi, and then it was Kyōko's turn to grimace.

"Well I was invited. I'm kind of a big deal, see," replied Kyōko, trying to get back onto the high ground as far as the conversation went.

"Good on you. I _wasn't_ invited, but the boss was, and where the Yama goes, so go I, apparently. Which sucks, because thanks to you lot, my quotas have gone up 50% for the near future."

"Well it's not my fault you can't fight your way out of a paper bag!" replied Kyōko with a smirk.

"Hah! Keep dreaming! And that's not even the reason why, although it's still your fault. You see, it's the Boss's job to understand the nature of people, and with you girls, she foresaw one of two possibilities; the one being you repented your sins and regained proper balance and harmony." Kyōko raised a skeptical eyebrow, and even Sayaka and Homura were now giving the shinigami dubious looks.

"Aaand what would the other possibility be?"

"Oh not much, just the Sanzu becoming choked to overflowing with souls who died by your unmerciful hands."

"Oh. Also, what the fuck?" The latter half of Kyōko's comment was directed not at Komachi directly, but at the curious sight of Rumia, who had been dragooned into a maid's outfit and was now carrying snacks and tea on trays . . . which she held out at the full extension of her arms. "What in hell are you doing?"

"Doesn't it look like 'the saint who has been crucified' to you?" replied Rumia as she extended the tray in a very unsteady manner toward Kyōko, who simply took the whole platter away from the youkai of darkness.

"Nah, it looks more like 'the waitress is gonna be crucified if Sakuya sees you walking around like that' to me." Rumia paled slightly and took her remaining tray in a much more careful two-handed carry to the table. Kyōko meanwhile began making short work of the sausages and pastries on her "liberated" tray.

"I thought that was supposed to be for all the guests?" asked Sayaka, pointing at the snacks which were disappearing with considerable speed.

"Yeah, well, better safe than sorry. The Nineball might drop 'em, and that would be a shame." replied Kyōko after she finished gulping down a generous handful of the hors d'oeuvres. _Points for not speaking with her mouth full, I guess?_ was the blunette's thoughts on the matter. Homura meanwhile plucked two handfuls of snacks off the tray, which raised a bark of outrage from the gluttonous redhead.

"I believe the saying is 'absence makes the heart grow fonder', is it not?" replied Homura.

"No, I believe the saying is, I'd better stand upstream if I want to get anything!" replied Komachi, who pointedly edged toward the door where Rumia had come from.

"You don't know the half of it," replied Sayaka. "And- oh hey, look there! Madoka, I didn't know you let anyone borrow your hair dye!" Madoka and the other Puella Magi looked at the door, and sure enough there was a girl there with hair as bright pink as Madoka's own, only done up in double buns, but instead of the Mitikahara cream this girl was wearing a Chinese-style tunic in maroon over a white dress shirt and pleated green skirt, and because this was Gensokyo, her rather mundane outfit was set off by a sleeve of bandages which covered her right arm clear to the fingertips, while the bracelet on her left was on closer inspection a steel shackle, with a short length of chain dangling from it.

"Kasen Ibaraki, I was not expecting to see you here," said Reimu. _That's about the best I can put it without stretching the truth._

"And why not? Hijiri-san did indicate that you wished to speak with as many as could make it, and besides, do you believe you are the only person who wishes to settle matters with Yukari?"

"I . . . see," was Reimu's only reply. But there was little time for the tempestuous hermit to say anything else, as more guests began to arrive. Eirin Yagokoro came along next, with Tewi in tow instead of Reisen, which left a bit of a sinking feeling in the pit of Reimu's stomach.

"Eirin, thank you so much for coming," said the shrine maiden by way of greeting.

"Oh, I'm just here to see how many beds I will be needing to add to the clinic." was Eirin's reply, and she held a straight face just long enough to see Reimu's face fall before breaking out into a mirthful laugh. "Sorry, Tewi must be rubbing off on me worse than I thought. That was a joke, Reimu dear, we're fully onboard, with _everything_ we've heard about." The emphasis on _everything_ caught Reimu's attention. _So, it seems Byakuren might have caught on enough to pass it on to others. Good, that will make this easier. _More footfalls sounded in the hallway, and the fast _tack tack tack_ sound gave Reimu and expectation of who she would see next.

Indeed, when the door opened it revealed Aya Shamemayu, but Reimu was not expecting to see Sanae and Nitori Kawashiro flanking her.

"Uh, hi." was all Reimu could muster, which brought a discreet giggle from Byakuren's direction.

"Yeah, hi yourself," replied Sanae with little good cheer. "Kanako-sama directed me to inform you that while she was unable to attend herself, she sends the three of us in her stead, to ensure that all the peoples of Youkai Mountain are properly represented. Reimu let out a low whistle before she could stop herself. "Yeah, yeah, congrats, you got Kanako-sama and Boss Tenma to fall for your sucker bet. Or rather the Youchrist did. Maybe you should make _her_ the new shrine maiden." Sanae stalked off, head held high.

"(I'll see if there's enough booze around to get her unbent before the party starts proper,)" said Aya in a whisper as she passed, but Reimu caught the tengu's arm, holding her back.

"(What exactly is her problem, anyway?)" Reimu whispered back. Aya actually stopped in her tracks and stared at the shrine maiden for a minute, until Reimu wondered if perhaps there was something on her face.

"Reimu, she got told by her patron deity to go work for her greatest rival in order to dethrone someone who just offered her a good deal of power. It doesn't take a world-class investigative journalist to get the scoop that she's not happy with you right now."

"Uh . . ." Reimu grimaced, unsure of what to say. "So what do I do?"

"You? You don't do anything, except give your speech. Sanae's a big girl, she wouldn't be here if Kanako didn't trust her to be professional."

"Oh." The dumbfounded expression on Reimu's face was immortalized as Aya's camera flashed.

"I do believe that's a keeper. Seeya on the morning edition, Reimu!" Reimu blanched, but before she could say anything, a ripple of whispered shock washed over the room, prompting her to turn back to the door to see what had happened. What Reimu saw sent shivers of worry down her spine, for there stood Yuuka Kazami, in the flesh.

"Why, Reimu Hakurei, as I live and breathe! What a delightful little gathering you have here! When Byakuren first extended her invitation, I expected this to be a dull, stuffy affair, but this looks positively delightful! And are those the Outsiders I've heard so much about?" Yuuka's gaze settled upon the Puella Magi, who shifted about uncertainly in her presence. They hadn't been specifically informed about the infamous Flower Master of the Four Seasons, but that didn't make her curious gaze any less unnerving.

"Yuuka, what are your intentions here?" Reimu asked, her voice firm and unwavering, although her trepidation was plain to see.

"I am here because I was invited, and I wish to hear what you have to say, my dear. No more, and no less. You of all people should know not to trust the tales of wagging tongues, unless of course you actually are whoring yourself on the streets of the Former Hell to keep your shrine afloat, in which case you have my utmost sympathy." Reimu was taken aback by the insinuation, and both embarrassment and anger colored her face. Immediately the shrine maiden turned to Remilia to assure her love that she did no such thing, which drew additional snickers from the crowd. "Ahh, my apologies, Reimu, for teasing you. I simply adore a simple, honest soul, and it is refreshing to be in the presence of once. I shall take my leave now, that your other guests might have their turn in the limelight. Good day, and thank you for inviting me." Yuuka curtseyed, the very image of polite femininity, and sauntered off to find a seat.

"Yes, er, well," Byakuren was a loss for words. "Ahh! Here's our next guest!" Indeed there was another pair of figures at the door, and while their presence was not as . . . unsettling as Yuuka's, she was still surprised to see Keine and Mokou were putting in an appearance.

"Yo!" said Mokou by way of greeting.

"Uh, hello. Come on in." Reimu replied, a little lame.

"If what I have been told is true, then I wish you every success in your endeavor." said Keine with a cautious smile. Meanwhile, Mokou was already halfway across the room, bearing down on the Puella Magi. The Fujiyama Volcano stood in front of the girls from Outside and looked them each up and down, ignoring the collective bristling and hands that carefully covered Soul Gems in order to more quickly draw out their power.

"Looks like your red-haired friend got over her temper tantrum. I wonder, just how long you would have actually lasted, had I been forced to fight you." Malice radiated from Mokou like the heat from coals ready to flare up into new flame.

"Care to step outside and find out?" replied Homura as she met Mokou's gaze and returned it with interest. Madoka laid a hand on Homura's shoulder, and once again the black-haired girl felt the unchained impulses of her love bubbling up to the surface.

"Homura-chan, please don't," Madoka turned and smiled at Mokou. "I don't think it would help Reimu-san's cause any if you beat one of her guests unconscious." Mokou's eyes went wide with shock. Excited whispers flickered through the room- a battle between Fujiwara no Mokou and the Outsiders would be far too good to miss! Aya shoved her way up to the front in order to document the action, and a few hands dipped into coin purses to put up wagers. The moment drew out as no one dared breathe for fear of missing the first blow, and then Mokou made her move . . . by laughing.

"Kid, you're either stupid, crazy . . . or a lot tougher than you seem. I'll enjoy seeing which is the case, but I expect Yukari won't. You're all right," Here a truly evil grin broke across Mokou's face. "For now, at least."

"Alright, alright, nothing to see here, move along!" Reimu cried out, shooing her guests back to anything other than gawking at imminent violence. The spectators dispersed quickly, but only because another spectacle awaited them at the door.

"Has the party started yet?" the question came from a figure who looked like Suika Ibuki, but surely couldn't be the littlest of the Four Devas, because she was clear of eye and crisp of speech. All eyes were on Suika as she marched in and slammed her wineworm gourd down on the table. "Oi, shut it!" the Oni shouted in response to the many goggle-eyed stares aimed at her. "Reimu, what're ye waiting for? We can't have a victory toast if there's no victory!"

"Well . . . actually that's a good question. Byakuren, are we waiting for anyone else?"

"_We most certainly are,_" was the reply, but it did not come from Byakuren. Gliding so smoothly that it was unclear whether the being was walking or hovering, a tall, elegant figure in ghostly pale blue entered the room. Six broad wings curled protectively around the figure, and it's face was a white porcelain mask of a woman's face, eyes closed in a prayerful manner.

"Sariel . . ?" mumbled Reimu, uncomprehending.

"_Correct._ _The Queen sends her regrets, but She is unable to attend, as the matters of state are too consuming. I am directed to speak in Her stead, and we intend to give your proposal all the respect it merits."_

"I, uh, I see. (Byakuren, why the hell didn't you tell me you talked to, er, Hell?!)" Reimu attempted to recover her poise as best as was possible.

"(You did say 'everyone', Reimu. I was merely carrying out your request to the best of my abilities.)" whispered Byakuren, a smile on her face.

"Well, then, um, welcome!" Reimu bowed before the Angel of Death.

"That should be everyone, I believe, save for those who are already on the premises. Sakuya-san, if you would please?" Sakuya nodded and exited with graceful speed. A few minutes later, the guests of the house began filtering in; Mami and Nova, then Satori and Rin, and Patchouli showed up as well, looking surprisingly functional for as little sleep as she'd had. Once everyone had found a seat, a matter of some considerable jostling and black looks, Reimu took to the head of the table, cleared her throat and pressed her hands to her sides to steady them, ready to begin.

And then the door banged open once more, to admit Youmu Konpaku, whose appearance sent an electric crackle of tension around the table. As Youmu's Mistress was more or less an honorary member of the Yakumo family, her presence could not bode well.

"Uh, hello, Youmu, I wasn't expecting to see you here. I don't believe an invitation was extended to Hakugyokurou . . ." said Reimu, somewhat lamely.

"I do not recall mentioning Hakugyokurou," replied Youmu. "I am here on behalf of Prismriver Enterprises, purveyors of fine battle anthems, and funeral dirges. It seems you are most certainly going to need one or the other soon." came the deadpan reply. For a minute, only silence reigned.

"Patchy! You screwed up!" yelled Marisa, breaking the moment.

"Excuse me?! How dare you?" was Patchouli's reply, too riled by Marisa's comment to care about the absurdity of the exchange.

"Well, let's see here; Reimu's being industrious, Suika's sober, and Youmu just cracked a joke. This is not the same Gensokyo as I left, ze!" The maligned magician rose to defend her spellcraft, but as the circumstances ticked over in her mind, Patchouli found herself chuckling at Marisa's assertion. This set off a chain-reaction, leaving the whole table in hilarity.

"Levity aside, Yukari is aware of your scheming. I do not believe she knows _what_ you plan, Reimu, and I believe that is the only reason the Mansion still stands." Sakuya plied Remilia with tea, in order to keep her Mistress from doing something useless in response to Youmu's declaration, such as shrieking with rage or jumping the table and trying to strangle the swordswoman.

"And I take it you know what I plan?"

"All I have is an educated guess from piecing together what crumbs you and Byakuren have dropped, but then again, I do not wallow in smug self-congratulation as does Yukari. The fact that she is _not_ aware of what you intend is all the more reason to bury her."

"Well then, take a seat, and let's get on with it!" Reimu dusted off her hands and made to address her audience, but then the door banged open again. This time, it was Cirno who rushed into the room.

"Hey, hold up! I can't believe you forgot to invite me! Good thing I noticed cake-girl leaving in time to fix your mistake, huh?" The ice fairy snapped off her remarks with a sarcastic grin plastered on her face. Others, however, were not so pleased.

"What is she doing here? Hey, clear out!" Sanae yelled at Cirno, and while no one else spoke up, there were several grumbles agreeing with the shrine maiden from around the table.

"Oh yeah? Well, I have more right to be here than you, that's for sure!" Cirno raised the finger encircled with her Soul Gem seal, and then the gemstone appeared upon the tip of her finger. A nine-pointed star of light formed before the ice fairy and began to spin rapidly in front of her before folding to wrap around Cirno's body, forming a short, sleeveless dress in white overlaid with a mantle in sky blue, fixed in front by points which extended down from the shoulders to cross over the breastbone, and in the back a third point hung to the waist. A second wrap closed about Cirno's waist, points crossing to form a broad sort of belt with long blades running down the outside of the legs to past the knee. Cirno's shoes stayed relatively unchanged, but the plain scuffed leather was replaced with the same sort of shiny armored leather used in other Puella Magi costumes, while the buckle straps were replaced with silver-steel, and silver steel anklets clasped into place. The final two points of light ran down Cirno's arms from elbow to touch at her fingers, and bracelets of silver-steel clasped the gauntlets in place. A circlet of silver-steel formed on Cirno's brow, with her Soul Gem emplaced front and center. Finally, Cirno's wings gained a seventh blade and reconfigured into a U shape, and when the transformation bubble burst and released the ice fairy into the normal world once more she was floating a handspan off the ground.

"You want me gone, then come and make me!" Cirno hovered in place for a moment, while disgruntled mumbles made the rounds. "Well, c'mon already! Feel free to try all together if you ain't got the guts to do it alone!"

"Okay, that's it! You're gonna burn, you annoying bitch!" Rin was vaulting the table even as she shouted her challenge, claws of fire extending from hands and feet. Reimu hit the floor as arcs of bullets filled the air, but Cirno grazed between the shots with the smallest of movements. The ice fairy let Rin close to just over an arm's length before acting.

"_Surgelati Telaio_!" shouted Cirno, and Rin frosted over, her charge reduced to a glacially-slow crawl. Cirno drifted forward and flicked the kasha on the nose and then whirled around, slapping Rin on the back of the head and propelling her at the back wall. Rin caught herself in time to keep from smashing through the wall, but the surprise was enough to destroy her enthusiasm for another clash.

"Thank you, Cirno, for the demonstration," said Reimu once she had picked herself off the floor.

"Hey, you wanna go too? You might be running this show, but don't think I won't thump ya!" Cirno snapped out as a reply, fists balled.

"I wasn't being sarcastic," replied Reimu. "Now both of you take a seat, _please_." After the hissing and growling had ended and everyone was in their seat, Reimu started her speech again. "Cirno has demonstrated that which lies at the heart of the matter which I wish to address today: The Outside magic of the Puella Magi. In her first encounter after becoming transformed, Cirno defeated myself, Sanae, Sakuya, Youmu, Alice, Marisa, and Utsuho in short order. Before anyone gets any ideas, making the contract to become a Puella Magi is henceforth forbidden to all citizens of Gensokyo. The _reason why,_" Reimu put steel in her voice to hold down the mutters which were rattling around the room. "The reason this is forbidden is because in order to do as she did, Cirno exhausted 95% of her available supply of magic in that single battle, which is a finite resource for the Puella Magi. Had the other Outsiders not gone to extraordinary efforts, Cirno would have perished before nightfall, and the circumstances of the contract make such a death _truly_ permanent, possibly even overwriting the Hourai Elixir. Yes, Sanae, is your question something other than 'why not let Cirno snuff it'?"

"Oh, um, no." replied Sanae, a little abashed, and she put her hand down.

"I figured. Nova, would you please explain to us why that would have been a bad thing?" Nova gave a wide-eyed look of "me?!" in response to being called on, then reluctantly stood to speak.

"The Incubator's contract and the Soul Gem are part of a larger scheme which revolved around inflicting emotional trauma upon a mortal being in order to extract energy from them. When a Puella Magi exhausts her Soul Gem, she undergoes a transformation into a monster known as a Witch. This creature is substantially stronger than the original person, and is possessed of a hatred towards the mortal world conditioned by her desires before falling. Yes, I can see that starting to sink in for a few of you." Nova added in a voice tinged with sarcasm as she saw faces contemplating what it would be like to face the vengeful remnant of the self-proclaimed "Strongest of Gensokyo". Keine raised her hand and was acknowledged by Reimu. Nova took the opportunity to drop into her seat, thankful to no longer be the center of attention.

"You said these contracts would be forbidden, may I ask how you intend to accomplish this?" In reply, Reimu drew out a scroll of parchment with a flourish and tossed it to the hakutaku, who unrolled the document slowly. "The . . . Border Compact?"

"A treaty of mutual assistance and communication. This Incident has seen extraordinary powers move against we peoples of Gensokyo, and who knows what other disasters lay out there, held back by the thinnest of ribbons, waiting to be unleashed upon the land? We should stand together to face what comes our way, or we stand to suffer greatly."

"Oh come off it, you just want help doing your dirty work because you couldn't even protect your own shrine!" Sanae thumped the table for emphasis.

"Utsuho Reiuji, my beloved pet, was nearly ensnared by the Incubators during this Incident, and this is not the first time she has been targeted by outside powers." The barb hit home and caused Sanae to swallow her reply in a livid flush. "Barest fortune has rescued my realm from peril twice now. Assistance or even knowledge of the nature of what threatens us would have been greatly valued." Satori stood up and a haughty chill descended upon her, giving every impression of a leader fit to rule over what was once the Hell of Blazing Fires. "I will join this Border Compact."

Byakuren stood next. "Look around you. Each of us has had dealings with Reimu, and I daresay several of us owe our current existence to her mercies. She could easily have traded upon that fact to _compel_ us to aid in her cause. The fact that she has not speaks volumes to the sincerity of her intention. Myourin Temple will join the Border Compact."

"You say her intentions are pure, but we're supposed to just fall in line once we join?" Sanae barked out, still skeptical.

"Absolutely not. This is to be a treaty of _mutual_ assistance, and I mean just that. If you have a better way to handle things, then I expect you to speak up, and in return I will follow your lead. And this goes for everyone who signs, understand?" Reimu looked around the room, catching each eye in turn.

"I see. Well, in that case . . . Moriya Shirne will join the Border Compact." Sanae locked eyes with Reimu. "But may the Gods damn you forever if you go back on your word."

"If I were to forsake my ideals like that, then I will put my throat to the Shinigami's scythe myself." After that, the dominoes fell one after another. The Articles of the Compact made their way around the table, until all parties had signed.

"Well, that's more like it!" Suika cried out and hoisted her gourd. After a pull of several liters' worth of alcohol, the Oni let the gourd thump back down to the table. "Paah! Booze tastes best after success! Anyone else want some?"

"I wouldn't make too many toasts just yet. There is still some significant business to be put on the table. First is the bad news; you know that the Incubators have began acting in Gensokyo. What you may not be aware of is the fact that their leadership wants to exterminate this whole _planet_ in order to make sure nobody knows they've been naughty."

"Hellfire!" Eirin swore. "What's the good news?"

"Well, there is no good news. The _worse_ news is that Yukari Yakumo has taken leave of her senses and wants to murder the Puella Magi."

"Wait, I thought she was mad at you? That's what she told me, anyway," replied Sanae.

"Well, yeah, she's mad at me _now_, after I helped thwart her first attempt."

"Okay, I can't say I really like any of the Puella Magi, no offense guys, but that seems a bit harsh. What did you _do_ back in spring to get her on your case?"

"We blew up a big Witch, because it was going to kill us all." replied Homura. The Puella Magi flicked her hair and returned Sanae's stare with one of her own that could cut glass.

"That's it?! That bitch!" Even the other emissaries from Youkai Mountain were surprised by the vehemence in Sanae's voice. "Back when we first went Outside, Yukari told me to be on my guard, since you guys were hostile. This whole time, she was dropping little hints here and there, like things were going to go wrong and she wanted me ready to step in and pick up the pieces. She played me! That bitch has been lying to me the whole time, and it helped set this whole thing off." The shrine maiden seemed to crack as she realized what had happened. "I'm so sorry, everyone. If I hadn't been blindly following that bitch's lead, none of this might have happened. . ."

"This is Yukari's _modus operandi,_ Sanae. Beings with considerably more experience and reason to distrust her have fallen for Yukari's schemes." Eirin said with kindness, although Sanae was not yet able to be consoled. "Might I ask, Reimu, what do you intend to do about Yukari?"

"Well, first I thought I'd ask her real nice to stop . . . "

* * *

Several hours later, there came a pounding upon the front door of the Yakumo residence. Yukari Yakumo jumped to her feet with a feral snarl on her lips, a growl encompassing such anger that no mere beast could hope to match. Ran recognized the sound of that snarl, and decided it was prudent to stay well away.

Yukari was angry for three reasons: One, she didn't like people coming to her house uninvited; two, she preferred guests to arrive at the door in obeisance, instead of being sure enough of themselves to _knock_ and expect she would _answer the door_, rather than simply annihilate them for their affront; and three, considering the circumstances, the caller at the door was certainly involved somehow in the business with Reimu, and also certainly not bearing good news.

Yukari was not disappointed in her third prediction when she yanked the door open, for there floated none other than Mima, looking considerably smug. "I certainly hope you haven't come here to try arguing on behalf of the Hakurei. If she doesn't know better than to think your presence will do anything but further harden my resolve, she's a bigger fool than I already believed her to be!" said Yukari as she eyed the spectral form on her doorstep.

"Actually, I believe Reimu's reasoning was that of all her companions, I was least likely to be instantly destroyed. But by all means, go ahead and invert the Border of Life and Death for me, see what that does. Ahh, now you are going to banish me to the Netherworld, and I am certain you are already attempting to contact Yuyuko to make sure that I don't get back out, and right now you're not reaching her, ah yes, I can see from the consternation on your face."

"What did you do to her?" growled the Border Youkai with both anger and a tinge of worry in her voice.

"I? I have done nothing whatsoever to, for, or six, or even eight-" Mima paused to ward off a medium-strength disjunction spell, well medium for Yukari; a nearby parallel dimension was going to be having a very bad day after Mima rerouted the attack there. "As I was saying, I didn't do anything to your gluttonous friend. The Outsiders however . . . do you know what they did? They have quite effectively neutralized her. You see, this is why you will lose, Yukari." Mima opened a small scrying portal which revealed a scene Yukari knew to be the Outside World, specifically a spacious and well-appointed apartment. A peculiar triangular glass table was the centerpoint of the scene, and it was heaped with pizza, cheeseburgers, fries . . . Outsider food. Yukari blanched in revulsion at the scene, but she continued looking as Mima panned the scryer around to reveal the obvious: Sitting side-by-side with the blue and the blonde Outsiders was Yuyuko, politely but intently demolishing enough food to feed a small army.

"All you can offer, Yukari, is fear and paranoia, whereas the Outsiders have . . . cheeseburgers. And you know what? The cheeseburgers appear to be winning."

"And what then are they offering you? Certainly not cheeseburgers!" Yukari swept a hand through Mima's incorporeal abdomen for emphasis.

"Why, I'm getting the greatest gift of all: The pleasure of watching you writhe in anger!" replied Mima, with a bit of a villain's laugh thrown in for good measure. "Anyway, back to business: Sign here, please." said the evil spirit, unrolling a short piece of parchment for Yukari's perusal.

" 'In accordance with the wishes of the greater Gensokyo community, I hereby pledge not to interfere in any way, shape, or form for the duration of the crisis . . .' Like hell! The temerity of Reimu Hakurei knows no bounds! I make the rules around here, not her!" Yukari snapped her fingers and the parchment disappeared entirely.

"Mm-hmm. 'Temerity', I like that. Very well. Don't say we never tried to do this politely." Mima gave Yukari a smile cold enough to freeze helium. "Yukari Yakumo, I hereby inform you that a state of war now exists between the House of Yakumo and the Border Compact. Good day." Mima faded from sight as soon as she was done speaking, but her smile remained, Cheshire-like until the end.

"Border Compact? Ha! So they think so little of me that they dare beard the lion in her own den? Well I shall show them! That which does not kill me, only gives me a target priority."

"Master, should I point out that you appear to be speaking only to yourself?" said Ran as she came up behind Yukari.

"I was well aware, Ran, I simply happen to enjoy intelligent conversation. _Yuyuko!_" shouted the Border Youkai, turning it into a summons.

* * *

"Oh dear! It seems that I must go. I do apologize, everyone, but thank you so much for inviting me! This . . . whatever this is," Yuyuko gestured with a slice of pizza.

"Pizza," added Kyōko helpfully.

"Yes, this pizza was quite wonderful! I shall have to send Youmu to you to learn the recipe." said Yuyuko. Youmu herself was vigorously shaking her head "no!" outside of the ghost princess' line of sight.

"Anytime, glad we could show you some of the Outside world, Yuyuko!" said Sayaka, cheerfully. "(When she gets a craving, poke Alice. She has a cellphone, so she can order delivery from our side,)" the blunette added in a whisper, information which earned her the undying loyalty of the Konpaku line unto 10 generations distant. Yuyuko and Youmu phased out a moment later, after which Mami let out a sigh.

"I'm sorry Kyōko, but we won't be able to have you _and_ her at a dinner again any time soon."

"Aww, that's no fair, besides can't you just have Homerun bug the Yakuza for more money?"

"It's not the money, Kyōko; it's the fact that the grocery stores in the area just don't pack the required tonnage."

"Bah! Just means we'll have to make reservations beforehand."

"Indeed." replied Homura, deadpan. "Speaking of reservations, I have Yamaguchi-san standing by."

"Right. Let's get this done. Be nice if we got a vacation before the next crisis came along."

"Tell you what, I'll tell the next contractee that has to be her wish," replied Nova.

"Wait, what's this Nova's making a joke? About Incubator stuff? Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, actually. I have an imaginary friend to keep me company now," replied Nova, and the other Puella Magi were surprised to realize the white-haired girl was serious. "I think things are gonna be cool, finally."

"Well, if you're happy, then we're happy," replied Mami. "Come on, let's go!"

* * *

The world swam into focus reluctantly, as consciousness reasserted itself with all the surety of a man standing on greased ice skates. Suddenly, strong hands pulled the figure up and then delivered a sharp slap.

"Don't worry us like that, Akiko-chan!" cried Madoka as she embraced the reborn Akiko Tomohara.

"Oww . . . What was that for?!" was Akiko's first coherent reply.

"You dummy! You could have called us, why did you go and make a contract?!"

"Huh? Contract? Wait, you mean that was _real?!_" Akiko cried out in fright when she saw the dark-amber gem within its' seal on her finger which didn't come off even as she frantically shook her hand.

"Yep, looks like," replied Kyōko around a stick of Pocky. "Welcome to the club."

"And check your phone," added Nova. Akiko frowned but did as she was told. In her inbox was a file titled _So You've Made a Deal With the Devil: Everything the Incubators Should Have Told You (And Didn't) [Beta Version 0.9]_

"Beta version? Seriously?"

"I was kinda busy this last week. Once we knock off a couple of the world-eating horrors breathing down our necks, I'll do an update, okay?"

"Yeah, I suppose . . . " Nova looked up to see Akiko staring at her, openmouthed. "Oh gods, you're one of _them_, aren't you?"

"Yep. All of these," Nova made a sweeping gesture to indicate Madoka and Homura, and Kyōko and Sayaka who were farther away in the building, what looked to be a closed-down office. "Are more-or-less my fault."

"So you mean to tell me, we've had a magic wish-granting space alien attending school since spring? Why didn't you tell anyone about this?!"

"We chose not to share that information, because we didn't want anyone doing anything foolish," replied Homura, coolly.

"What do you mean by foolish, huh?"

"I would say that making an ill-considered wish with no support and falling to Witch-hood in less than a week would qualify as foolish." Akiko turned aside, embarrassed as Homura called her out.

". . . so now what am I supposed to do?"

"First off, read that file. You have been given a rare and precious gift, Akiko Tomohara. I suggest you do not squander it."

"Gift? What kind of gift are you talking about?"

"A second chance." Homura swept a hand through her hair, then tossed an object at Akiko, who caught it out of reflex. "That is a Grief Seed. Its' value will become clear shortly. It was once the heart of a Witch called Claudia Elisabeth. Learn well from your mistakes, lest you fall once again."

"Man, what is her problem?" muttered Akiko after Homura had stalked off.

"Homura-chan is worried for you, Akiko-chan. We don't want to see you get hurt, but we don't have any sure way to keep you from harm. She's trying to stay cool, and not make any promises she can't keep."

"I . . . see," replied Akiko in a most dubious fashion. "And what the hell kinda system is this anyway? I mean, you screw up and you turn into some kind of horrible monster? Seems like a pretty big flaw, you ask me."

"That's because it's not a flaw. That's the whole point of the system." replied Nova.

"What the hell?! Why would you do such a thing?"

"I didn't write the rules, okay?! I wanted to change things. And the guys in charge, they want to kill me, you, every single person on this planet in order to make sure that change doesn't happen."

"Jeez, harsh!" Akiko closed her hand around the Grief Seed and nodded, once, as she decided. "What can I do to help?"

"I dunno, what _can_ you do?" replied Nova, as she too stalked off into the darkened office.

"Okay, what the hell, Mads? Are those two a side effect of having one of these contracts too long, or is it just you guys?"

"It's just us, I'm afraid," replied Madoka with a sad smile. "We've been right in the bullseye for a pretty long time now."

* * *

On the other side of the office, the second minor miracle of the evening was playing out better than Akiko's resurrection. For Daichi Miki, the first sensation he felt upon regaining consciousness was his daughter nearly flattening him with her hug.

"Father! You're alive! It worked!" cried Sayaka without the slightest concern for the world around her.

"It appears that way. I suppose you'll be wanting a commendation for going above and beyond the call of duty?"

"Nope, I have everything I need right here!"

"At this point, I should probably inform you that you've been taken hostage." Oyabun Yamaguchi stepped into the conversation after an appropriate amount of time had passed. "Relax, it's merely a bit of seinen-manga drama we cooked up, to provide cover so as not to reveal the true nature of what has been happening lately. Although as your daughter and her allies have reminded me recently, we Yakuza are known for being a force for stability and order, and I find these aliens have done a good job of causing havoc. If you are willing, Captain, I shall place my organization at your disposal until such time as the alien menace has been driven off. No preconditions." Daichi was taken aback by the offer- Yamaguchi's offer was tantamount to political suicide, possibly even literal suicide for what he was giving to the Constabulary.

"The duration of the incursion, and no further. And I promise that no undue liberties shall be taken upon your organization, Yamaguchi-san." Captain Miki offered his hand, and Yamaguchi shook it, gratitude written upon his face. "I dare say we have our work cut out for us, however. So far it has fallen squarely upon the shoulders of these exceptional young ladies to keep us safe. Now we need to step up and do our part."

"Agreed," replied Yamaguchi. "As a matter of fact; Akemi-san, if I may have a word with you?" Homura acknowledged the Yakuza boss with a nod, and was somewhat surprised when he guided her to the service dock in the back. "Do you still use firearms as your primary tools in battle? If so, I have something which may be of use to you." Yamaguchi pulled a tarp off a pallet sitting on the dock; underneath were several steel cans of ammunition and what could only be a gun case. The Oyabun pulled out one can in particular, stamped with a designation code which read "Mass Reactive - Armor Piercing". Inside were shotgun shells, their red plastic hulls banded at the top with yellow-and-black warning stripes.

"This is a curious lot; it's military test-issue only, and exceptionally destructive. It seems black-market arms dealers don't offer a 30-day 'like it or return it' policy, so I have been at a loss of what to do with it. If you would happen to have a use for a weapon specifically designed to blow armored warriors into little pieces, be my guest."

"I believe I can find a use for this, yes." replied Homura, with a glint in her eye of the kind you would expect to see from Kyōko at an unlimited buffet.

"Excellent. In the case you'll find an M11017 shotgun in order to put the rounds to use, and the other cans are your usual fare. Lastly, I believe I should have no trouble relying upon your natural discretion regarding this transaction, correct? Our blue-haired, justice-loving friends have plenty with which to concern themselves, so there should be no reason they should need to be burdened with the particulars of your loadout, I believe."

"Indeed not," agreed Homura.

* * *

I see you have come here seeking solace. What troubles you this day?

"I- actually, what makes you say I was coming here for help?" Nova sat at the same table in the Mansion's garden as before, only the evening sky was as dark as the shade beneath the parasol.

You came to the Mansion alone, and you came to the exact same spot where last we talked. It takes neither a mind reader nor a diviner to see you are upset.

"Yeah, okay, you got me. We were able to bring back Sayaka's dad and this one irritating girl who fell into Ragnarok's trap. And when I find the guy who gave _that_ jerk a promotion to World-Ending Unstoppable Horror, I'm going to punch him in the face _so_ hard! Honestly, it isn't bad enough that you're trying to erase our very existence, you have to give the job to the biggest bastard on the whole payroll?! Also while we're on the subject of unfairness, Akiko managed to create armor for her Puella Magi form! I mean, what the hell, I can't even do that, and I'm a professional cheater! Arrgh!" Ethereal giggles replied to Nova's rant, which caused the ex-Incubator to start snickering as well for a moment, but she quickly trailed off.

"I mean, I can't fault Akiko. I really can't. It's the way of my kind to seek out girls who have been weakened by the slings and arrows of the world and seduce them. And I know it's Madoka's way to forgive and forget all kinds of harm. I myself have benefited from her kindness far more than I deserve. But I just can't make my peace with Akiko yet, and when they decided to go and celebrate the returns, I had to leave. How horrible am I, that I would resent my friends' good fortune?"

We are kindred spirits, for neither of us truly exists in this world.

"Uh, okay? That seems a bit harsh."

You lack love, and it makes you uncomfortable, and it also makes you incomplete.

"Alright, fair enough, but how do you suggest I go about fixing that then?"

You don't. Love is not a prize to be won or prey to be taken. It will find you, when the time is right.

"Gee, thanks. Some help you are." Again, the wind tinkled with mirth in response.

Cheer up. Your time may be closer at hand than you know. Also, I should point out that true companions will not forsake you over such things as not summoning up false cheer for their sakes when your heart is sad. There may be harsh words, curses, Spellcards fired in anger, but those who your heart holds dear will not leave you.

"I hope you're right. If not for my friends, I don't know what I would do."

* * *

"Reimu, dear, if you're going to pace, please stick to a single carpet at least!" The morning after the Compact had been signed and the ultimatum delivered, Reimu had been up with the dawn. While this by itself was not such a bad thing for a devotee of the Shinto religion, Reimu had been up past midnight making plans, planning contingencies, and then laying out contingencies for her contingencies, and it was restless worry which drove her from her otherwise comfortable bed with the first rays of sun. Remilia, not a fan of daylight in the first place, was quite livid.

"Is it time for the airing of grievances?" added Satori as she marched down the main staircase. "Excellent, in that case I should like to add the following; please never put Suika Ibuki and Kasen Ibaraki in the same room again unless you can drug one or preferably both into an unconscious stupor!"

"Sorry, I had no idea they would react like that." Reimu cringed. There had been a feast to celebrate the formation of the Compact, and the oni and the hermit had not exactly hit it off. _Hit it off? Definitely not. Hit _each other_, though? Oh yeah, they definitely did that!_ A shudder ran down Reimu's spine as she recalled the brawl. Sakuya had rated the fight a 6- as in the damage they did was equivalent to Flandre being on the loose with no constraints for six hours.

"Indeed. See that you do your homework in the future. Between the brawlers, Cirno, and those Outsiders, you have a preternatural talent for placing me in the presence of irritants." Reimu looked, really looked at Satori, and saw through her mask of anger. Satori heard the revelation as soon as it came to Reimu, and turned away suddenly, flush with actual anger now.

"What is your problem with the Puella Magi, anyway? Why do they have you so worried?"

"Their presence threatens to upset the current balance." came the haughty reply.

"Satori, talk to me? At least allow me to try and help you."

"I do not wish to be used as a distraction from your own problems, and this is not the kind of situation where you can just whip out your Yin-Yang Orb and blast the problem to smithereens. All I could do is wish that we had never met them, and that would be distastefully ironic."

"Alright, have it your way, but please speak up before it does become a 'blast it to smithereens' kind of Incident-" Reimu trailed off when she discovered she was speaking to empty air. ". . . the hell is her problem now?"

"I'm not certain, but I could hazard a guess-" Now it was Remilia's turn to give up as she noticed Reimu was clutching the Yin-Yang Orb, with a faraway look on her face.

"Oh hell, it's started!" cried the shrine maiden.

* * *

The entrance to the Grand Market on Youkai Mountain was an exceedingly poor place for a battle of historic proportions to begin, but such was fate. Ran Yakumo had come to the market seemingly without a care in the world, but she was dismayed to find Momiji was blocking the way.

"It would be best if you left, for everyone's sakes." said the the wolf tengu, with worry on her face.

"Oh, and why is that?" asked Ran, rather testily, although whether it was the interruption which irritated her or just having to be Yukari's fetch-and-carry, Momiji couldn't say.

"Did Yukari not inform you of the situation, or are you being obtuse?"

"Oh, that. Please, Momiji, don't make an ass of yourself. When Mistress Yukari gets done with her nap for this month she is going, if I may be so crude, she is going to smear that Hakurei all over the walls. And when that happens, you can bet anyone who gets caught with any of the overspray upon themselves is going to have a very bad century. Choose wisely." Ran began to step past, but Momiji shoved the Shikigami back with a hand to the shoulder. With her other hand, the Captain of the Guard drew a card from her belt and activated it. The air crackled as three figures appeared from the aether.

"Ran Yakumo, under the authority of the Hakurei Compact you are under arrest for aiding and abetting crimes against the people of Gensokyo. Come along quietly," said Sayaka, leveling her sabers at the Shikigami before continuing, "Or come in pieces." Ran looked from Sayaka, to Mami and Kyōko who were backing the Knight of Justice, then she snarled and fanned out her tails.

BGM: O-Life Japan - Tokoshu Gensokyo - Shotoku Legend ~ True Administrator

"Do you know what the nature of the nine-tailed fox is? Come at me and find out!" Clawed fingers dipped into the sash around Ran's waist, drawing a handful of Spellcards for immediate use.

"Right now, the last thing you want is to take the name 'Kyuubi' upon yourself. Oh, and I'll see your cards and raise you _Crusader Sign ~ Calamity Cross_!" Blades exploded outward on all vectors as Sayaka unleashed her Spellcard, and the weapons curved back to slash through the space occupied by Ran from every axis. The kitsune was not there when the attack arrived, but the sudden tatters in her dress and fur indicated she had not gotten cleanly away, either.

Ran was nowhere near out of the fight though, and she let a barrage of danmaku lead the way as she rushed into the fray with claws out. Sayaka parried and deflected some of the bullets, and then surrounded herself with a thicket of sabers. The blades in the Puella Magi's hands were lost as she put them up to parry the raging kitsune's claws, but this was all part of the plan as Sayaka rolled out of the way of the attack, drawing up two more blades as she spun and slashing for her foe. Fast as she was, Sayaka's strikes didn't surprise Ran, and the kitsune rolled with the blows, turning what could have been a mortal cut into merely an annoying slash along the arm.

"Oh ho! So the truth is revealed!" said Ran, splashing accusatory droplets of blood on the Puella Magi with a flick of her wrist. "I thought your precious Hakurei was so committed to solving problems without bloodshed. Amazing what a person can leave behind when it becomes inconvenient, is it not?" Ran's next gesture sent bullets, not blood at Sayaka, who turned her blades spine-to-spine in a warding gesture and suddenly the barrage ricocheted off a protective barrier with atonal chimes. Kyōko leaped to the fray, but the head of her scorpion spear was deflected with a ring of steel on steel. _Hey, what the fuck?_ sent Kyōko as Sayaka brought her blade back to the ready from where she had blocked the redhead's attack. _This is something I have to do myself. Don't worry, I've got it covered._

Sayaka pulled her guard apart just long enough to hurl both weapons toward Ran. The kitsune leaped over the singing blades with ease, but Sayaka was already turning for her next attack. Sword edged sword with a peal like thunder and it seemed that Ran stuttered mid-flight as the shockwave hit her. Hungry blades reached up to feast on kitsune flesh as Ran was forced to descend, but at the last moment the Shikigami drew upon her connection to activate for herself a power normally only Yukari could use. The falling kitsune turned into a whirling ball of stone-hard fur and razor-sharp claws and it was Sayaka who got the worst end of the exchange as she dived out of the way to avoid being smashed beneath the attack. Ran recovered as quickly as she could, but the net result of the clash was a draw, both combatants having spent the same amount of Spellcards for the same amount of minor wounds.

"A race of monsters has settled upon this world with murder in their hearts. There is no limit to the evil to which they will stoop in order to succeed." intoned the Knight of Justice, her voice husky and low as the weight of the long war filled her words. "You and your master lost any right to mercy, fairness, or any other consideration when you decided to put your egos before our safety. Reimu has more than lived up to her ideals. You were offered a way out without violence of any sort, and when that was spat upon, you were offered fair warning." Sayaka raised one saber so the point was in line with Ran's eye. "Everything in this world precious to me is under threat. Do not expect I will pull my punches for you."

"Boldly spoken indeed," Ran chuckled, but her voice was wholly without mirth. "But this world exists only because of my Master's wishes. Everything in Gensokyo is subject to her command, and for you, Outsider, her only command is _die! Radiance ~ Fox-Tanuki Youkai Laser!_" The complex string of syllables ignited a Spellcard which wove beams of pure destruction across the battlefield. Sayaka was entirely surrounded by their auras, to the point her allies could no longer see her. Then the kitsune struck again, claws tinged with vorpal magic.

"_Sayakaaa!_" cried Kyōko, shocked by the sudden reversal of fortune. _"I've got this covered, don't worry," you said. God damn me, why did I listen? Why didn't I _act_?_ The mists reverberated to a low, sinister chuckle, a sign the battle was not yet over.

"Turnabout is fair play, you know. And you have had that coming for some time, Kyōko Sakura." A thunderclap dispersed the last of the radiant energy, and beneath was revealed an utterly unexpected scene: Ran Yakumo, plastered up against a broad kite shield. The kitsune's claws were at full extension, but they tore only air, and Ran was being extremely careful not to move, for a falchion with a crackling blade of lightning lay at her throat. Sayaka's long white cape ruffled in the breeze, but it hung from a set of ornate steel pauldrons in blue enamel with golden filigree describing a musical score across both. A matching white tabard emblazoned with a Templar Cross inset with Sayaka's 'C' device hung over a sculpted steel breastplate while greaves of the same material ran up her legs to the knees.

"You should worry less about your fool friends, and be more concerned with the matter at hand, little girl!" Ran snapped out and then she punctuated her words with a backward somersault-kick which threw sparks off the Puella Magi's armor and set stars to dancing in her eyes. Sayaka broke into a lunge the moment her eyes cleared, shield up and leading the way, falchion low in a reverse grip. Ran bared her fangs in a nasty grin and swiped at the shield with both hands, throwing Sayaka to the side. The kitsune's triumph lasted only as long as it took for her to see the other Puella Magi smirking as their empathic link let them in on the joke, and then she found Sayaka turning into the spin Ran had imparted in order to ram her falchion straight into the kitsune's guts. Ran bombed out of the attack at the last second and Sayaka went with the tide again, tossing her sword in the air to free it. This looked like an opening for Ran, but her counter-attack was smothered by Sayaka's shield slamming down upon her with tidal-wave force, and then Sayaka plucked her falling falchion from the sky and laid it to Ran's throat.

"Now I say again, come quietly, or come in pieces." Sayaka snarled into Ran's ear, and this time, the kitsune did back down. "Book 'er, Momiji, or, uh, whatever it is you do." The wolf tengu stepped in, with a look of some disbelief on her face as she bound the kitsune's arms with ceremonial restraining cord and then ignited another teleportation card to remove Ran to a well-secured holding facility.

"What the hell was that?!" Kyōko exclaimed after Momiji had taken leave of the group.

"That, my sweet, was payback." replied Sayaka, with a sharp-edged grin on her face.

"I suppose. Scared the hell out of me though."

"That was kinda the point! You pulled that trick once, I didn't want you trying it again, or worse . . ." Suddenly Sayaka swept Kyōko into a tight hug. "I'm sorry, that was mean of me. It's just, we keep going up against nastier enemies every time. I don't want to have to risk having to bringing someone back again."

". . . ow." Kyōko extricated herself from Sayaka's embrace. "That armor's gotta go, Blueberry. One way or the other," added the redhead as her trademark sharp-toothed smile made an appearance. "Although where did you get this stuff, anyhow?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but it's partly your fault." Ignoring Kyōko's indignant squawk, Sayaka continued, "At least if you were being honest way back when, that one time you asked why we don't have armor, and weren't just using it as an excuse for a cheap feel. Seeing how Akiko got that samurai suit free with her wish really pissed me off, and it's been bugging me ever since, like where's the freakin' justice?! And then when that bitch with the tails started going off on how Yukari owns the whole world and we best bow down and praise her, it just . . . _ignited._ You know how it feels when you reach inside your Soul Gem and hit the spark which causes the transformation? It was like finding another one buried deeper within. I drew it out and _boom_, this happens." Sayaka swished her falchion around, grinning as the lightning edge crackled as it tore the air. "I think I'll keep it, though."

"Well, I'm glad that went well, at least." said Mami, waving her hand over the thicket of muskets she had summoned, returning them to the aether. If anything, the blonde Puella Magi looked a little miffed about the situation. "Next time, however, please let those of us who aren't aware of what's going on in on the joke, Miki-san."

"Huh? But you were th- oh right." Embarrassment colored Sayaka's face.

"Please explain?"

"Uh, well, I was trying to pay Kyōko back for a time where she pulled a trick on us, made it look like she had been killed. Which I'm still mad at you for, by the way! When I die young of a weakened heart, it'll be your fault!" Sayaka shook her fist at Kyōko, who rolled her eyes.

"You know that's physically impossible, right? First off your Soul Gem fixes shit like that, Newbie, and second, you're not even in the same body as you were then, seeing as how you're the only one who's managed to get killed so far, so if anything, I should be yelling at _you_ to be careful! Actually, Reimu probably wants a word with you too on that, seeing as I sorta went on a rampage last time it happened, and-" A ribbon slipped into place around Kyōko's face just then, reducing any further arguments from her to meaningless mumbles.

"You were saying, Miki-san?" said Mami, putting an edge of "get to the point already!" in her otherwise sweet voice.

"Uh, yeah. Um, how do I put this nicely? When you were a Witch, Kyōko brought out her Rosso Fantasma trick, and made it look like Hashihime had killed her. She didn't warn any of us, so we couldn't give it away. And I guess with everything I've been worried about you guys and took that out on her by doing the same sort of thing. Sorry."

"I remember what happened while I was a Witch, although it is like the vague memory of a nightmare. I don't hold it against you for stopping me then, in fact I thank you for not letting me cause any great harm." Mami gave a reassuring smile. "I understand why you might be worried about bringing up my past, but let me assure you, it doesn't bother me. Yesterday is yesterday and tomorrow is tomorrow."

"Well, in that case can we worry about today?" asked Kyōko. "Hell hath no fury like a crazy bitch, and from everything I've seen, Yukari is crazy like a bag of soggy weasels. I'm no prognosticator, but I doubt putting her right-hand bitch in the pokey is going to make her want to sit down for tea and be reasonable."

"Yeah, I don't see her being reasonable anytime soon. Let's get back and let Reimu know her day's about to get worse."


	12. Taboo

**Episode 12: Taboo**

"Is everything in place?" Reimu stood on the steps of Myouren Temple in a state of calm that surprised even herself. The Compact had chosen to draw the battle here to maximize what advantages they had, as well as limit the possible damage to more populated areas. _Still, I can't imagine Byakuren is looking forward to this. _

Whatever reservations the living saint might have had were not showing on her face, however. "Everything, and everyone, is in the appropriate place and ready." Byakuren paused for a moment to gather her thoughts. "I must say, this is an ambitious plan, Reimu."

"I know, but a straight-up shootout with Yukari could last days, hell, weeks. We can't afford to spend that long, not with the Incubators still on the loose."

"I hope you're not banking on Sanae forgiving you for that bit." replied Byakuren, switching gears.

"I'm not expecting it. All I expect is for her to do her duty." Reimu frowned. _"Sanae, I need you to take Aya and some of the other swift fliers and go hunt down any of the Incubators and their minions who might be still in Gensokyo." Reimu had said when the two shrine maidens met the previous evening. Sanae flinched, then went white with anger. "I can read between the lines as well as anyone, you know." had been the other shrine maiden's reply. "Why are you keeping me out of the fight?" Reimu gathered herself and bluntly stated her aims: "If the worst should happen, if I should fall, you are the only one who can maintain the Border." Reimu pulled a letter from her vestments, but Sanae still had more to say. "If it's such a big deal, why not just stay back at the Mansion and let Remilia fawn over you some more, instead of cutting me out?" Reimu grimaced, but not because of the jab at her relationship. "Because I will be damned straight to hell if I let anyone else risk themselves on my behalf if I am not there to share in the burden. I do apologize for asking you to do this." Reimu handed over the letter. "This contains instructions on how summon and bind the Yin-Yang Orb. Genji can tell you more, should you need it, as can Mima." Sanae had taken the letter and tucked it way, then turned her back on Reimu. "Just so you know, I will be offering up prayers to Kanako-sama for your safety, but only because I don't want your damn job, okay?" Reimu had said "thank you", but it was to an empty space, for Sanae had left as soon as she was done speaking._

The clatter of sandals on stone pulled Reimu from her reverie. Toyosatomimi no Miko was there, still serving as Byakuren's second. Miko's own subordinates were with Shou and Murasa aboard the _Palanquin_, standing off from the battle with the noncombatants aboard. "She's coming," said the taoist, who looked a bit unsettled.

"Are you sure, Taishi-chan?"

"Ohh yeah, unless you know anyone else capable of imagining such . . . anatomically implausible violence?" replied Miko with a shiver.

"Sounds like Yukari, that's for sure." Reimu drew out an ofuda, this one enchanted to carry her words to matching charms in the possession of the others involved. "Stand ready, everyone. Our guest of honor is on her way."

* * *

"Well, she's on her way." Charlotte looked over at Cirno, who was leaning against the wall. "You sure you're okay with this, being held out of the initial attack?"

"Oh yeah, I mean we gotta give Yukari some chance, right? Cuz Eye'm the strongest in the whole world, it just wouldn't be a fair fight!" Cirno crossed her arms and gave a self-satisfied nod, which drew a derisive snort from Charlotte. "Yeah, okay, even I don't believe that line of bull. It's not important though, because whatever Reimu told me to do, I'd be here instead, making sure you're doing alright."

"Thanks . . . I think." Charlotte sighed, and then Cirno sighed back. This drew a glare from the peach-haired girl, but then she sighed again, only this time Charlotte let her breath run through a down-up-down lilt . . . which Cirno copied a moment later. A grin broke out on Charlotte's face and she tried to put together an even more complex arrangement, but giggles made it impossible to focus and soon both girls were laughing at the situation in a maniac manner.

"I mean it though, I wanna be your friend and I wanna help." Cirno flicked her Soul Gem seal. "This thing shows me how to hurt people, and I see a bunch'a ways I could break you to pieces. Stupid thing doesn't show me how fix anything, nooo, that would be too useful." said the ice fairy through an exaggerated pout. "But I can try to help, if you'll let me."

"I suppose . . . I just don't know what to do. It's like, I don't know what I want for myself, but I feel the bleed-over from Kyōko and Sayaka and it sounds so good, what they do with each other, I feel like I'm missing out." Charlotte paused to see if Cirno was understanding what she was saying, and the peach-haired girl got a thump on the head for her troubles.

"You dummy! That's it, that's what you're so worried about?! Jeez, for a moment I thought you were talking about love or something important!"

"I- I was! You jerk!" Cirno rolled her eyes.

"No, you're talking about lust! That's something different entirely."

"And how would you know?!"

"Well, duh! Look around! How many incredibly _awesome_ fairies do you see in the area, huh?"

"Uh, none." replied Charlotte, who wasn't so upset as to let an opening like that slip away.

"Arrgh! Everybody's gotta be funny. Okay, lemme put it this way; full-bodied corporeal fey like me, and Dai, are rare, because you gotta survive for like 50 years before you get the full upgrade. When that happens, the whatchamacallit which conjures our bodies plugs a buncha knowledge into our heads, important bits like 'oh, ya gotta eat now or your body will disintegrate'. They need to update the program a bit though, let all the noobs know that Marisa frickin' Kirisame and her frickin' Master Spark hurt like hell! But where was I . . . oh yeah! One of the things you learn when you get your body is if there's a funny feeling in _here_," Cirno poked her belly for emphasis. "It means you're hungry, but if it's down a bit lower, that means you're, er, hungry, for uh, something else." Charlotte rolled her eyes and made a "spit it out already!" motion, which only increased the ice fairy's embarrassment. "But anyway, that's a body thing, and love is a brain thing. I mean, I love all my gang, I'd take a Master Spark to the face for any of em, unless they deserved it, cause no way am I eating one of those for fun. But I'm not, er, interested in them like that. Uh, you okay in there? You looked a little zoned."

"Nah, I was just wishing we came with all the answers pre-programmed like that."

"Meh, so you have to find stuff out the hard way. Least nobody's trying to use you to keep stuff cool in summer. If I hear 'hey, Nineball, hold this for me!' one more time, I'm gonna scream."

"Okay, point," replied Charlotte. "Could be worse though."

"And how's that?" replied Cirno, with a frown.

"You could be Yukari."

"Ha! If I was her, I wouldn't be stupid enough to get me on her badside!"

"Uh, sure." Charlotte replied as she tried to untie that sentence enough for it to make sense.

* * *

"I take it you have come to surrender yourself peacefully and repent for your misdeeds then?" Reimu pumped amplification into her voice as she called out to Yukari as the Youkai of the Borders passed through the temple gate. _A cheap trick, but I'm not doing it for her._

"Give. Her. Back." Yukari strode forward without so much as a hitch in her step from Reimu's words, the eye of a storm of anger.

"You know what? Since you've been such an intractable bitch, no! The only way you're seeing Ran anytime soon is when I throw you in the adjacent cell to hers."

"And with what army do you plan on accomplishing that task?" Yukari called back. Reimu's eyes flashed with malice, and for a reply she held up an ofuda and ignited the magic within, shooting a firework into the sky. That was the signal for Byakuren to reveal herself from behind the pillars fronting the temple, along with Miko. And the signal also meant it was time for Marisa to drop her camouflage spell so that she and Alice and Kyōko and Sayaka and Mami could step up. And then Patchouli dropped her own ward of invisibility, and Remilia and Sakuya and Madoka and Homura took their positions. The temple gate closed with a _boom!_ and Suika and Yuugi let the handles fall, the two Oni grinning from ear to ear.

BGM: O-Life Japan - Ishyuu Gensokyou – "Necrofantasia"

"Quite the rabble you have assembled here. Am I supposed to be impressed? I would have expected you to at least be able to dredge up one or two reprehensible monsters from your misbegotten past to actually challenge me."

"Reprehensible? My word! Such a foul tongue, young lady!" Yukari's eyes widened with what could almost be fear as Yuuka strolled onto the field, idly twirling her parasol. "You never call, you never write, and now this! 'Reprehensible'? 'Monster'? I'm beginning to think you don't love me anymore!" After a sour moment, Yukari began to laugh, but without mirth.

"Oh, you think yourself so clever. But there is a flaw in your plan, Reimu." The Border Youkai summoned gaps all across the pavilion so that she could speak directly into each combatant's ears. "You know me, and you know the rumors of my power. Let me assure you they are as but a paper kite as compared to the form of a dragon. Who among you is willing to die for the likes of Miko, of Yuuka or the Outsiders? Leave now and I may be generous enough to let you live."

"I don't think that will be necessary," came a quiet voice in reply and now Yukari did show worry as Komachi stepped into view, her scythe singing as it cleaved the air itself. "You see, the Yama has put me in charge of clean-up here, and should I happen to drag your sorry ass to Hell first and take the scenic route, so that the girls have time to reclaim their mortal lives before I get back, well, the Yama already thinks I'm a slacker and won't make quota."

"For too long have you sown the winds with discord, Yukari." Reimu intoned, letting her foe's own gaps carry her words to all involved. "Today you reap the whirlwind."

BGM: 0:57

The first blow was struck by Yukari, who enlarged one of her speaking gaps and burst out next to Reimu, releasing a storm of danmaku from both hands. The plan was to avoid torrent of fire which certainly had to have landed where she had been standing and get in close enough that no one would risk taking shots and hitting their own, so Yukari was somewhat surprised when first off, she heard no great quantity of fire from behind, and then Reimu exploded into a crimson mist when the bullets landed.

Ofuda slapped into place from three different angles and then Yukari recognized the magical signature of _Taboo ~ Four in One_. The charms limited Yukari's ability to shift past the boundaries of her nature, which started a cold trickle of fear down the Border Youkai's spine, then she was bound into immobility by Mami's ribbons as they entwined her limbs. There came the hackles-raising sound of the Hakkero charging, and Yukari resigned herself to receiving the killing light of the Master Spark without any way to mitigate the damage. She steeled herself for the blow, and Marisa delivered, pouring a full measure of hate into her shot. But it was a testament to just how badly the Border Compact had vexed Yukari that she was unable to figure out what was bothering her so greatly about the specific situation until the hellglare ended and Yukari saw Yuuka in double standing before her. The damage from a single shot hadn't been nearly enough to disorient Yukari that badly, which could only mean one thing. _Oh no . . ._ Yukari gritted her teeth as the originator of the Master Spark put her unique flourish on the spell and caught the Border Youkai in two beams at once. _That _hit jarred something loose in Yukari's brain so that even as her flesh was crying out in protest of the damage, her mind was reassessing the situation. Yukari managed to get a ward in place just before all three Reimu clones piled on with their own copies of the infamous spell, spearing her from every axis. _Priorities, Yukari, remember your priorities!_ The ofuda had mostly burned off in the sixfold blast, which gave the Border Youkai a chance to become a vapor rather than a solid and escape her fate for a moment.

Yukari snapped back to solidity among Alice's team, but the danmaku was already falling by the time the Border Youkai could ready a Spellcard. Accepting the hits with a growl, Yukari snapped off _Barrier "Curse of Dreams and Reality"_, which set the magicians to scattering, but more importantly it provided cover for her real cast, a finely tuned scryer spell which even the likes of Mima would be hard-pressed to detect. _And now, for that annoying little early-warning detector!_ Yukari locked her glare upon Miko, who was standing on the steps with eyes closed and an accusing finger thrust unerringly at the Border Youkai. However, any thoughts Yukari had of taking Miko to task ended as a lightning-edged blade punched through her belly.

"You, again?" snarled the Border Youkai as she took hold of Sayaka's blade in one hand, and gathered a fistful of hellfire in the other.

"No, me!" answered Kyōko, just before her spearhead crossed Yukari's wrist, removing the appendage and its' deadly payload. Yukari roared in rage and gapped out of the vicinity just before Alice could wrap her in angelhair wire to complete the job.

"Oh, bloody hell!" Miko cried out in warning and called up a ward of her own as a gap split open before her. The Border Youkai bore down on her foremost vexation, but that was a mistake, as Yukari discovered when she walked straight into a _Light Magic ~ Star Maelstrom_. The overlapping layers of explosions rattled Yukari some, but she was still able to snap out a _Double Black Death Butterfly_ Card, only to have it bombed to hell and gone by Byakuren. This momentary reversal gave Miko a chance to jump in, _Shichi-Sei Ken _flashing through the air hungry for blood. The weeping slices in her flesh were annoying to Yukari, but then Miko lit up her _Light Sign ~ Guze Flash_, and Yukari decided it was time to leave the vicinity. Once again she opened a gap and looked to the nightmare realm of staring eyes for refuge.

Byakuren threw out a disjunction and blew the newly-opened gap shut, and was rewarded with the sound of Yukari crying out in pain as Miko's Spellcard took effect. The Taoist princess' triumph was short-lived however, as Yukari unleashed a broad-spectrum sampler of her whole arsenal of spellwork, and Miko had to sacrifice her followup Spellcard to bomb out of the sudden assault. Before any of the girls on the shrine steps could regroup, Yukari was gone again through another gap.

"She's toying with us," snarled Reimu as she watched Yukari appear from another gap to assault Remilia's team. Homura answered the newest wave of danmaku with actual bullets, and yet again the Border Youkai began the dance of give-a-little, take-a-little, neither taking any significant hits nor managing to drop any of her attackers.

"Indeed," replied Byakuren. "Almost as if she were buying time for something."

"Yep," said Reimu back.

"Easy for you to say!" snapped Miko, clutching her side where one shot in the barrage had been less of a graze and more of a punch straight in the abdomen. "That bloody well hurt."

"Taishi-chan, did the Way of Tao do away with such nuggets of wisdom as 'do not stand directly in the path of an enraged youkai' while I was in exile?" Miko's only reply was a sour look as Byakuren delivered her gentle barb. Reimu shook her head.

"Heads up, everyone, looks like Phase 2 is about to begin!" called the shrine maiden, setting one of her contingencies in motion.

* * *

Yukari let loose a bestial growl as she burned her way clear of a tangle of thorny rose branches. _Why bother with pyromancy when you can just manipulate the Border of Flammability and let nature take its' course?_ The Border Youkai would have felt much better if she could set fire to Homura's arsenal in the same way, but the black-haired Puella Magi wasn't obliging. The injuries to her physical form were annoying but no more than that so far; besides being able to manipulate her physical construction in many ways, Yukari was still a very long-lived youkai, with all the toughness that came with _and_ an exceptionally skilled magician for her age. There was no doubt in Yukari's mind that she could handle any three of her opponents at once, four on a good day. _Of course, Reimu would have to bring _seventeen_ fighters to the battle. Hasn't that girl ever heard of a fair fight?! _Out of nowhere, Yukari's scryer returned, bearing good news. A nasty grin spread across the Border Youkai's lips, and this time when she stepped through her gap, Yukari did not reappear anywhere on the current battlefield.

When Myourin Temple was originally constructed, there had been no provision for a dungeon. This fact drew objections from both Murasa and Shou, with the former summing up the problem as "Well, what in fucking hellfire are we going to do when we run into a real hardcase? Your options right now are kill 'em or put 'em up in the guest house. You won't go for the first and I sure as hellfire won't accept the latter!" The emergence of Toyosatomimi no Miko and her gang looked like it might reopen that argument, but Byakuren and Miko had come to an . . . agreement, albeit one which was not popular among the lieutenants of Myourin Temple. Shou in fact had made a habit of sitting outside Byakuren's door and sharpening her glaive all through the night as a warning. However, with the current crisis, Miko had been able to buy herself a bit of a reprieve; her old mausoleum was virtually impregnable, and between her wards, Byakuren's wards, and a couple of dirty tricks wired up by Alice and Patchouli, the building was deemed suitable for imprisoning Ran Yakumo.

No guarantee had been made as to the structure's withstanding a jailbreak from the outside, however. And so the current jailor in the mausoleum, Tatara Kogasa, found herself face-to-face with Yukari Yakumo in an extraordinarially bad mood. The karakasa was showing a good deal of terror as she fingered the ofuda which let her communicate with the rest of the team. Fortunately, Yukari had eyes only for the figure behind the cage of steel. Ran was sitting on the floor of her cell, looking glum.

"Hey, what'd'ya think you're doing? You're not allowed in here!" Cirno shouted from the doorway. Yukari turned with deliberate slowness to face the icy intruder.

"Do you really think you can stop me, little fool?"

"You think you can _survive_ me stopping you, ya ugly old hag?" Cirno shot Yukari the one-finger salute as she called out her Soul Gem and transformed.

"Just try and stop me," replied the Border Youkai as she ripped the cage asunder.

"Actually, she doesn't have to," replied Ran. Horror clutched at Yukari's heart as she watched her Shinigami start to . . . _melt_ before her. The shape of the kitsune seemed to slump and shrink, and Ran's tails began to thrash and twist themselves into an asymmetrical pattern. _Unidentified ~ Purple Mirror _exploded into Yukari's face.

BGM: Syrufit - White Clear - "Back Door"

"Oh, by the way, _supriiise!_" shouted Kogasa as she piled danmaku into the shocked Border Youkai. Yukari shrieked with unquenchable rage and tore at the imposter with claws and spellfire both. Nue parried the first murderous swipe with her trident and then . . . Yukari didn't get a second, as Charlotte's yo-yo wound around the Border Youkai's center and she was yanked backward. Charlotte spun Yukari around as she unwound her weapon and then the Border Youkai met a jelly-roll face first. The gooey confection was humiliating, but Yukari didn't notice, as Cirno rammed an icy broadsword deep into her gut.

Yukari snarled and gapped off the supremely sharp blade- or tried to. What she got instead was a piercing headache. _Perhaps I have underestimated the lengths to which my foes are willing to go,_ mused the Youkai of the Border as she tasted the jelly on her face for the first time, although she already knew what she would find. There was only one herb in all of Gensokyo that could interfere with her powers so, and only one place it could grow. _When I am finished here, the Garden of the Sun shall be reduced to a desert of glass! But first, these fools!_

Of all her foes, Yukari focused first on Nue. The surprise attacks might have hurt, but Cirno and Kogasa were low-caliber youkai, and Charlotte was just an Outsider. _To credit them otherwise would be a breach of the fundamental order of things! Reimu might have rebelled, but the rules of the world itself do not simply lapse on their own!_ Fury flew from Yukari's hands, reaching out to strike down the chimerical youkai who had tricked her. Such was her rage that Yukari at the deception that Yukari didn't even pause when Charlotte stepped in front of her. Nue aimed a taunting grin at Yukari as she blocked and bombed off all the Border Youkai's attacks, even as Charlotte whirled her yo-yo in a tight arc, the topaz head humming louder and louder with every pass.

"Hey, bitch! Catch!" Yukari turned in a rage as Charlotte called her out, and then the Puella Magi let her yo-yo fly free, and the crackling gemstone hit Yukari like an enraged dragon god. _Okay, so perhaps I have misjudged this one, _thought the Border Youkai as she peeled herself out of the imprint she had left in the wall. _No matter, that one can die like any other flesh._ However, Yukari found her vengeance stalled by a massive, slimy tongue smacking her across the face as she turned towards battle once more. Standing athwart her was Kogasa, and though the karakasa trembled with fear, she refused to back down as the Border Youkai rounded upon her.

"And what false treasure has Reimu offered you to buy your loyalty, little thing? You know you will not live long enough to earn it."

"I serve at the pleasure of Lady Hijiri, who is my liege. She rewards faithfulness with loyalty and respect, and for that I would die a dozen times over. You have no hold over me, you beast!"

"We shall see," was Yukari's only reply. Killing light gathered in the hand of the Border Youkai, and as she reached out to deliver the fatal blow, Yukari saw no terror in her victim's mismatched eyes, only resolve. _Gods damn them for making me do this!_ Yukari swore as she cast her attack. The raging energies crashed home . . . into a barrier of ice. At the same times, fangs sunk into Yukari's throat and injected a venom which sent chill numbness throughout the Border Youkai's limbs. Nue kept her serpentine appendage extended to hold Yukari in place.

"Get her!" snarled Nue, who was shaking with anger. "(You want to fight like a bully? Then die like a bitch!)" hissed the serpent into Yukari's ear. Charlotte raised her arms, priming the dispensers up her sleeves to unleash hell, while a halo of rime formed over Cirno's head as she hefted a needle-sharp icicle spear. _No! This will not be my fate!_

Before either girl could attack, a sudden tsunami rose up in the confines of the catacomb, blasting both Puella Magi back and washing away the poison shacking Yukari's powers. The Border Youkai took the opportunity to retreat to the surface. The courtyard of Myourin Temple would serve as well as any location to bring this conflict to conclusion.

"No more tricks, and no more games. Let's finish this!" Yukari called out as Reimu stepped into the courtyard. The shrine maiden nodded and drew a Spellcard, which in turn caused Yukari to raise a barrier. Instead of an attack, however, the card drew the fighters from the mausoleum to Reimu's side.

BGM: 2:53

_Fascinating, fascinating, fascinating!_

Yukari opened up with every bit of spellcraft that could be expected from a youkai with more than a millennium's practice at her craft and then she followed the deluge of danmaku with _Xanadu of Straight and Curve_. Suddenly the fighters for the Compact were forced to set their feet to the dance of evasion, and do it well, for none called a tune like Yukari Yakumo.

_Just a little bit further in the forest / There I'll make flowers blossom!_

And then the seekers began to hit home, but not on flesh. Fat, smiling sunflowers burst up from the flagstones to swallow whole the lethal spells. Yukari gritted her teeth and sliced open a gap behind the one she knew was responsible for countering her assault, and once there the Border Youkai lit up a firestorm which engulfed Yuuka and her favored flowers. The youkai gardener's body burned merrily in the flames, but that only revealed it to be a clone, and the plants used to create the ruse gave off a nauseating stink that muddled the Border Youkai's mind. Before Yukari could consider her next move, though, she herself was engulfed in flames.

"If you're gonna do a thing, you gotta do it right!" Mokou lit a cigarette off the blazing mass of Yukari's hair, and then she launched a thundering roundhouse kick which knocked the Border Youkai insensate for just a moment. "Like this! _South Wind, Clear Sky, FUJIYAMA VOLCANO!_"

_Just a moment's battle, a roadside tragedy_

Worry took root in Yukari's heart once more, and this time she could not easily send it away. She still had plenty of spellpower to repair her body and maintain an offense, and careful manipulation of the boundaries of her physical form had let her siphon off a good deal of Mokou's Spellcard, much as a lesser magician might graze the edges of a barrage for a desperate refreshment. The problem was that had _hurt_. None of the attacks so far had been cast according to the dueling code, and that meant they could and eventually would become lethal. Worse, Yukari had reflexively attempted to gap out of the attack only to find herself barred from leaving the courtyard, by a power she recognized as the Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb. That meant something that actually shocked Yukari as the implications tumbled into place: _Reimu is trying to kill me! And at this rate, she might even succeed! Well, fair is fair then. _The Border Youkai stepped outside time until she could work out a way to implement the plan which had popped into her mind, and also to let her body take on a less charbroiled texture.

The border of then and now burst open to release Yukari directly upon her foremost foe, claws and spells reaching out to vent her fury. Reimu was aware of the attack and raised her defenses, but Yukari was turned away first by a strike of such swiftness it was almost beyond the comprehension of either fighter.

"Y-you! Traitorous wench! I will destroy you for this!" Yukari aimed an accusatory finger as she shouted, but if Youmu was concerned, it didn't show on her face. Instead, the half-phantom cleared her katana of Yukari's blood with a flick of her wrist and drew out her wakazashi.

"Apparently you have spent too much time around your brainless slaves, for you have mistaken me for someone who is obliged to follow your commands. Worry not, for my _Hakurouken_ can cut out that confusion, along with your festering black heart!" A barrier formed just in time to keep Youmu's short blade from doing just that, but even then the force of the strike drove Yukari back. The ancient youkai let her barrier fall and counterstuck with a furious salvo of danmaku, but that was only a smokescreen while she created a new kind of barrier around her body.

_All of the tricks everyone uses_

_That one, this one, give me them all!_

A veritable hailstorm of power rained down upon Yukari, bullets of every color and description, and even some actual bits of hot flying metal reached out to blast the Border Youkai, who grimly plowed through the storm to attack someone, anyone. When the curtain of fire parted for just a moment, Yukari sighted in upon Marisa. _As good a target as any, that one! _thought Yukari as she reached out and loosed hell upon the young witch. _Boundary Between Wave and Particle_ was countered by _Return Inanimateness_, and then Marisa and Alice shared a knowing grin.

Blades and bullets sought out Yukari's flesh as Reimu directed all her fighters in a renewed assault, but Yukari remained focused upon the two smirking magicians. The look which Alice and Marisa shared said that they knew a very funny joke, and that Yukari was to be the butt of it. It was not a look which Yukari liked to permit anyone but herself to have. Parallel gestures drew out two slivers which at last Yukari understood to be fragments of a Spellcard. The realization sent a spike of adrenaline into her spine as two voices became one.

"_Binary Sign ~ Unmerciful Malice!_" rocked the courtyard, and Yukari's eyes went wide as she tried to track the hundreds of projectiles bearing down upon her. All their fury arrived at once, and the explosion blotted out the Border Youkai entirely.

_It's not enough! Not enough!_

_Give me more, more, more . . ._

Laughter, hideous and broken, echoed from within the incendiary cloud. The explosions hadn't ended, but instead remained in place, a throbbing, smoking mass of destruction as Yukari stepped forth. Her shadow reached across the courtyard in the hellish light, lapping at the feet of the combatants.

"Bloody hellfire, just die already, you miserable bitch!" Miko snarled, edging her sword for another attack. Indeed, Yukari felt ready to do just that. She was running entirely on stolen energy and banked anger, but that didn't matter, for her last gambit was now in play. Where her shadow touched the feet of those Yukari wished to fight, the world rippled and consumed them, throwing the targets into a bruise-hued simulacrum of the courtyard.

* * *

"For thirteen hundred years have I watched over Gensokyo, and in return for my patronage, this place has given me the only thing from it I have asked; obedience. For me, but a handful of grains of sand have fallen in the time since you wretched fools started your little Incident, but no longer. Today, little pests, you shall die." For a dreadful moment, no one spoke. Yukari's words hung over the battlefield as a pall of smoke. The Puella Magi reached out through their empathic link to reinforce each other, seven hearts beating in concert to power a singular resolve.

BGM: Syrufit - Where is Love - "Kizu Kakushi"

"You forgot someone." Charlotte stepped forward, fists clenched. "Where's Cirno?"

"Oh, don't worry about the little aberration, I will deal with her soon enough." Yukari smirked as she drew a Spellcard.

"_UNACCEPTABLE!"_ Charlotte exploded forward, pulling a Spellcard of her own and igniting it. "_Fateful Bond ~ Yin and Yang!_" the Puella Magi called out, and the spell's power lit a flaming orange aura about Charlotte as she charged. At the last moment, Yukari dodged aside, her superior smirk never leaving her face as the peach-haired girl blew past the Border Youkai impotently-

-and then a pair of icy-sharp swords burst through Yukari's flesh. Cirno then somersaulted in place and kicked Yukari off her blades. The Border Youkai stumbled for a step and then unleashed a blast of raw force to hurl her attackers away. Yukari turned to face the rest of the Puella Magi with raw hate in her eyes, and then all hell broke loose.

Kyōko was first into the fray, scorpion spear whirling and biting, and Yukari answered with cannon-blast sprays of danmaku, but the wily redhead just disappeared into the shots with a shout of "_Rosso Fantasma!_" ringing on the wind, and then suddenly the chain was wrapped around the Border Youkai and just as suddenly released, sending Yukari flying forward. There she met Sayaka's shield full on in the face, and the tremendous impact staggered Yukari. Within that momentary distraction Sayaka slashed her foe once, twice, and then spun completely around to wrack Yukari with another shield bash followed by a slash that would have completely removed the Border Youkai's head but for a timely bombing of _Border of Motion and Stillness._

Then Yukari was through the first wave and advancing upon those she considered the weaker of her enemies. A tempest of flame rose about the feet of the Border Youkai, lashing out to drive back those who had attacked her already. Time came to a halt, but even then Yukari was not worried. She could not directly affect anything from within Homura's bubble of non-time, but the Border Youkai was fully aware of what happened around her. _And it seems I won't even need to do anything but kill this little nuisance when I get out of here,_ mused Yukari as Homura lined up her shotgun.

But Yukari had made a mistake in dismissing the black-haired Puella Magi simply because Homura didn't attack directly with magic like the others. As cosmopolitan as she was, Yukari still didn't take Outside technology seriously, and so she caught completely by surprise as the brace of MRAP rounds from Homura's gun burrowed into the flesh of her arm and shoulder- and then that shoulder and the accompanying limb just _disappeared_ as the charges detonated.

Shock blotted out Yukari's senses for a moment, and even after the restorative spells kicked in and banished the pain, she found she was unable to make her body respond to her commands. This turned out to be because of the thorny vines entangling her legs and torso.

"Why?" Madoka cried out. "What did we ever do to deserve death?"

"Just as the diner makes no apologies to the cattle, and the exterminator does ask permission from the vermin, neither shall I explain myself to you," spat Yukari for a reply.

"If that is so, then you deserve what happens next," replied Madoka. For just an instant the mask slipped, and Yukari could see the darkness lurking behind the border of Madoka's consciousness. A Spellcard appeared in Madoka's hand, and Yukari tried to brace herself for the impact, for she knew not who was powering the spell, the quiet and peaceful girl who stood before her, or the black spectre beneath who lusted for death and could know only the peace of the grave. "_Terrible Weight ~ Swordbearer's Curse!" Madoka screamed._

* * *

_"It's high time people started cooperating in this madhouse. Reimu has done an excellent job so far of converting her enemies into tea-and-biscuits pals, but we will need more in the future. There are powers both old and new that would move against us if given the chance, as you well know. This flare-up from the Outside is the perfect opportunity to get the youngsters united, give them something to work against."_

Curiosity and dread filled Yukari as the scene unfolded before her. She recalled well those words; they had been her own, several months ago, when the Incident first began. Yukari had been speaking to Yuyuko, laying out her latest scheme to profit from a calamity which threatened her beloved Gensokyo. "I could almost commend that girl," muttered Yukari as she watched the tableau unfold before her. It seemed that _Swordbearer's Curse_ was not simply another brute attack against flesh that was numb to all pain, but instead it called up her own transgressions to be used as a weapon against her. The spellcraft and insight which that implied impressed Yukari, but right now she hated Madoka more than she could recall ever hating anyone for hurting her so.

_"And what would you have from me? I see the Yukari-who-needs-assistance sitting in front of me, not the Yukari who simply vents her frustrations in a suitable location." replied the memory-Yuyuko._

_"What I need is for you to maneuver your ever-diligent assistant into joining the expedition, and have her keep watch in order so that things don't get out of hand. I want this to be another soft, friendly Incident, not poison any possible relationships with a new group of magicians who could be brought into the fold."_ Yukari could only look upon that forlorn wish with a wry grimace, considering the murderous wrath which had been vented upon her in the course of the day.

However, the Swordbearer's Curse was not yet done with Yukari, and it dredged up another memory, this of someone from so very long ago that she had yet to meet. _"I'm sorry. I can't let you do this, Yukari."_ Anguish clenched the Border Youkai's heart as she recalled the words, spoken by one who called her "friend" and whom she had called "traitor". And yet, Yukari knew the pain she felt was not even the full measure of what lay in that cursed memory which was still to come. The name on the other woman's lips had been her true name, the one not yet spoken, that she would abandon in her quest of self-righteousness. Yukari had seen fit to utterly forsake that bond, going so far as even making her very name a repudiation of her old identity, the syllables rolling off the tongue high-low-high where as the former had been intoned low-high-low. Once upon a time that other name had sounded so perfect, even when rendered imperfectly upon the lips of the girl she would lose. The girl who had become the woman who thwarted her worst excess. A tragedy which was replayed once again this very day, as another with the same face had once again hardened her heart against Yukari Yakumo, and set herself athwart the Border Youkai's path.

The pain, the sorrow, the loss, the knowledge of her repeated failure shattered Yukari's heart as a heavy hand landing upon a delicate glass figurine. But what was left behind in the wake of that strike was more terrible than could be contemplated. As the Spellcard timed out, the once and future beast was released back into the world of the living. _If I am to be punished for going astray, then so be it. You all shall suffer as have I!_ Malice flooded the empty place where Yukari's heart once lay and then turned to glee as she read the flaws in her foe's attack. Seizing upon the opportunity, Yukari reached out and crossed the borderline she had glimpsed earlier and ransacked the space beyond in search of a treasure most precious. Astral claws snuffed the flickering flame she found, and Madoka Kaname's body flopped to the ground, empty of life.

_No, stay calm, don't panic, Nova's here, the Shinigami is on our side this time, this can be fixed, right?_ Homura tried desperately to reassure herself, to warm the infinitely cold void that had opened in her soul. Sorrow weighed her down, stole from the black-haired girl any hope of responding, and all she could do was look to her friends and hope they could turn back this disaster. _Right?!_

Nova was indeed the first to act. She spat a rapid-fire string of syllables with the vehemence of a curse, and a pillar of light sprung up around her, similar to the completion of a Soul Gem contract. But her eyes were empty and cold when the light ended, and this was no benign miracle she was working. Blood began to leak from her raised right hand as the flesh tore open, revealing a teardrop-shaped hole ringed with some of the cancerous ironwork the Puella Magi had come to expect from a Warlock.

"You say you have lived 1300 years, as though that were some sort of accomplishment." Even as Nova spoke, more tendrils of the iron corruption burrowed into her skin from where her Soul Gem brooch rode. "I have been here for twenty-five thousand years, contracting Humanity in service of a Project which has gone on since before this BALL OF SHIT even became a planet." Nova raised her hand so that Yukari was looking down a void as black as the Soul Gem which rode on Nova's chest. "And you know what? Everything I worked for, every. single. thing. which defined my existence turned out to be a lie. All I had left was a singular precious treasure. Which you have taken from me."

"FOR THIS YOU WILL DIE A THOUSAND THOUSAND DEATHS AND SUFFER EACH ONE IN AGONY!" Nova pounced upon Yukari. The Border Youkai raised her arms to defend herself, and where the void met Yukari's flesh the matter simply disappeared, leaving a terrible wound which would never, could never heal. Nova raised her hand for another strike-

-and the hourglass turned upon itself once again.


	13. Akemi's Anvil

**Episode 13: Akemi's Anvil**

This is a place I had hoped I would never see again. If I were a different person _Kyoko Sayaka Reimu Komachi Mami all you faithless traitors die in hell!_ I might try to pretend, hold out false hope for even a minute or three that this was not what it seemed, but I know that not to be the case. It would be futile to attempt to convince myself otherwise, I see that as clearly as . . . well perhaps that metaphor will not suffice, for of course, being returned to where I am now, my eyes are not perfect. Instead of reaching for my glasses I simply weave a spell and force my eyes to return to perfect clarity. It is an extremely simple spell, one that requires only a minute trickle of power. Good thing too, for I have little power to spare. I do not need to look to know that my Soul Gem is tarred almost black from my exertions just prior to arriving here, not to mention the pain . . . the hurt that no simple spell can cure, that drove me to this act of cowardice once again. It is of little matter, for I can easily fix that situation.

I check myself out of the hospital. I must remind myself to be careful and thorough in doing so, for although I have done this very same routine more times than the nurse herself, it would not do to arouse suspicions by hurrying along. It is time to head home. No, not home; I cannot head "home", because that implies a place of belonging, of rest and comfort. Think of home and I am liable to end up walking to Madoka's house, and that would be unpleasantly awkward. No, instead I head to the apartment to which I laid claim. Temporary storage, for my burdens and my body, nothing else. At least I am able to let the real me show once I am inside. The walls are certainly thick enough to keep any passersby from becoming suspicious at the sound of screaming. I look at my Soul Gem; it is as befouled as I expected. Fortunately, I have a Grief Seed cached within the dimensional pocket in my shield for just such an occasion.

_God is a pig, a whore! _perhaps I am not coping as well with the start of another cycle as I wished to believe. Profaning the Almighty is perhaps not the most useful course of action, but I permit myself the indulgence. To do otherwise would be to forsake my Humanity, what little remains. If she were to see me, Kyoko Sakura would call me the "Ice Princess" again, but taking affront does not change the truth. Besides, despair is not the only path to Witchhood, merely the fastest.

I reserve my most vile obscenities for what is a relatively minor deity in the scheme of things; Kanako Yasuka. It is not even that I find fault with the Moriya Shrine, above and beyond the animus I bear towards all things that live and breathe while my beloved does not; simply put, I know with surety that Kanako exists, and perhaps my blasphemy will draw some attention. Then at least I could hope for a decisive resolution to my situation, one way or the other.

School starts in two days. With my powers I can stop and reverse time, but not accelerate its' passage. It is unsurprising that I would lack such a useful tool, considering the source of the power in question. A wish, ill-considered and made in haste often fails to live up to expectations, and Kyubey certainly was never interested in giving his victims time for clear-headed and careful consideration when making their choices. Kyubey . . . I must get accustomed to dealing with his insidious evil once more. Nova Floresca is dead and gone, it would seem. Pity. I was almost beginning to like her. Our "new blossom" turned out to be bitter fruit indeed, but considering the seed from which she sprang, I suppose I must congratulate her for lasting as long as she did before failing. Would that she would have failed someone else, Sayaka perhaps or Mami maybe.

Mami Tomoe, how is it that you manage to affect people so? Your penchant for silly names _why Italian of all things? You've never even been there!_ managed to infect Kyoko, Nova, even that idiot fairy. And yet, you are almost always the weakest link, the first to fall, and you have a bad habit of taking others with you.

_**But do you know why she could not stand you? It is because when you inevitably fail, you have a bad habit of taking others with you.**_ Well, no sense dwelling on the past, especially not shallow lies spoken in an attempt to unsettle. As always, the decor of this place is . . . curious. It is not how I would prefer to be represented, now, although in the beginning it served its' purpose by putting the others off-guard, and later it became familiar enough to be a comfort, and complex enough to serve as a distraction. This is not the first time I have had to sit and wait for an opportunity, nor will it be the last I suspect. I shall endure _even though this is the first time crawling into a bed that should have been warmed by the presence of another._

* * *

On Monday morning, I don my uniform for the first time again. Mitikahara Student Academy, the dress rehearsal for Hell. I wait for Saotome to finish her ridiculous tirade _what does she know about love anyway? I'd like to see _her_ have to sacrifice her life on Fate's endless wheel for her beloved and let me deal with the shallowness of everyday life for once!_ and then I walk in and present myself as I always do. Turning to face the class I see Madoka's puzzled recognition and a disapproving glare from Sayaka. Wonderful. Instead I let my gaze sweep across the room and settle upon Akiko Tomohara, right up front, the dutiful little worm. A thrill of power surges through me _I could kill her right now. Hit the stop, draw out a weapon, I still have those lovely MRAP rounds, hell I still have the M-249 I pilfered for Walpurgis! She would deserve such a fate too!_ but I tamp down my emotions and take my seat. After the requisite amount of settling in, I play the Nurse's Office Gambit, more to keep in step with the previous cycle than for any true tactical advantage, although it does get me away from the nattering pests. As we walk, Madoka seems downcast and distressed.

"What is the matter?" I ask, more to make conversation than anything.

"Oh! N-nothing, it's nothing." How odd, I don't remember Madoka ever being this jumpy in my presence. Something to untangle later, of course. For now, I need to concentrate on settling back into the rhythm of this hateful place. The remainder of the school day passes in a blur, and so much the better. The only thing harder than pretending you know the answer when you don't, is pretending you _don't_ know the answer when you _do_.

The afternoon finds me drifting towards Mitikahara Mall. Here is where the game will truly begin. I must not fail here. Even so, it is difficult. The subspaces of the Mall, where I must act, are clouded thick with old memories. In the last cycle, Madoka saved me here, and inflicted on Kyubey what became a mortal injury. Kyubey . . .

As if summoned by that thought, the beast appeared at the edge of my senses, driven to search me out by the curiosity that he would deny even being able to feel. I turn so that I can focus upon him, get a good sight picture _fucking gutless wretch why couldn't you break when it was inconvenient for someone else!_ Kyubey just sat there, flicking his tail back and forth _that was her second language or maybe even her first, little twicthes and shrugs and headshakes which set that fat ponytail bouncing back and forth, as if you could take the girl out of the Project, but you couldn't take the Incubator out of the girl _and he was still sitting there even when I placed his head upon the front sighting post of my Beretta and then aligned that post between the blades of the rear sight. Time froze, for I did not want the shot to be heard, and yet somehow the little beast _knew_ what was happening. My bullet slammed into bare concrete.

It would not do for my prey to escape at this stage _die die die die for inconveniencing me! die for her sins!_ and yet I know this is ultimately a futile effort, for even if I destroy Kyubey _Incubator Unit 0952, one of seven active Incubators residing upon Prospective Location #0097. Only Incubators could reduce megalomania to a four-digit number_ he will simply return. It matters little, though, because I have plenty of ammunition, and ultimately, watching his body explode into clouds of bloody fluff is . . . theraputic.

From out of nowhere pain bites into my ankle, but by the time I realize something has happened I am already headed for the ground! A simple clipping of time lets me recover, and I roll into a crouch, a fresh gun in each hand. They don't do me much good as something heavy _beats_ the air above my head. I turn to engage this new attacker but the weight returns to smash my Beretta from my hand _that stings! Someone will bleed for this!_ and is gone again before I can draw a bead. From the corner of my eye I see a ghost in black and blue. Unconsciously I know what it is, _who_ it is, but I cannot fathom _why_ it is attacking me. That proves to be a problem as a moment later a hard bar crosses my chest. The attacker tightens up on the baseball bat which restrains me and barrel of the bat slips under my chin, choking me.

"Okay, what the hell is going on here, Transfer Student?" Sayaka Miki snarls in my ear. She was wearing a black Prefectural Police jacket over her uniform as a sort of camouflage. Clever, I suppose _goddamned idiot bitch! how dare you!_, but distressing that I fell for it.

"I can't breathe!" I splutter, which is true enough. Sayaka relaxes her grip, being fair enough to let me catch my breath so I can give my explanation. Her mistake. I snap my head back, cracking her nose with my skull and then I drop free of her grasp and then put time itself in abeyance. In the space between seconds I draw my Desert Eagle and step back to get a clear picture of the situation. I carefully place a shot from the gun and then shift my aim so Sayaka's nose is perched upon the blade of my sights. Time resumes and my first shot bites into the bat, a fingerlength above where Sayaka holds it. The wood explodes from the bullet and now the irritating blunette is disarmed. Now things are as they should be. Now I can start explaining my case.

A bullet from a much heavier weapon streaks through the battlefield, and in my hyperfocussed state I am able to see each individual sliver of metal as my gun explodes when the ball strikes it. I turn to engage this new attacker _goddamnit why can't you be already dead you pestilent bitch!_ but Mami already has a fresh primed musket in each hand. Kyubey took the opportunity to leap to safety upon the blonde's shoulder, and it's enough to put a recollection into my head_** I should at least get first dibs on Mami**_ even though the situations aren't particularly similar.

There was a thunderclap and a bullet ripped the air past my ear. That was annoying, and un-Mami-like as well, so I paused to reconsider the moments immediately leading up to the rather rude interjection. It appears that I must have laughed when I stumbled across the memory of Kyoko's calling "dibs", maybe in an unhealthy manner. This is disturbing, because it means that one, I managed to blank out even while a weapon was aimed at me and two, the current edition of Mami has a very short temper. Neither are particularly conductive to my getting the results I want from this situation.

"Now, Akemi-san is it? Would you care explaining what you were doing?" asked Mami, her cool facade back in place.

"Yeah, and could'ja throw in why the hell Madoka and I both saw you in dreams before you showed up? Cause that's seriously messed up!" added Sayaka. I must have blanked again, because Mami snapped her fingers at me to get my attention. I put her aside for the moment. The revelation I just acquired is more important.

The trouble with muscle memory is you do things even when you know they won't work. In this case I reached out to open up the empathic link so I could more clearly "see" what the hell the blunette's problem was. With her and Kyoko being so flirtatious, I habitually kept their pathways blocked in order to keep from being overwhelmed. In this case, however, all I got was a fuzzy, indistinct blur. The vexation of not immediately getting what I wanted covered over a vastly more important piece of information, which no amount of snapping or even shooting on Mami's part will dislodge: I _linked_ to Sayaka, this one standing in front of me now, despite her plainly not having a Soul Gem yet, and the Sayaka with whom I made the original link being severed from me by a considerable distance of space and time.

"I- I don't know . . . " the words spill from my mouth unbidden, and I am embarrassed even as I am helpless to stop myself.

"What'd'ya mean? Did you just decide to chase down that . . . what _is_ that thing?" Sayaka is distracted for a moment by the oddity that is Kyubey. An opening presents itself and I must take it. I can't safely act until I have sorted out this situation. My shield freezes time and I exit the scene as fast as I am able.

* * *

"Sayaka beat me." I say the words aloud, so I can began to convince myself of the fact. Sayaka Miki managed to outmatch me in a fight. The fact haunted me throughout the night. I need to go to school again today, if only to keep up appearances. It is too early in the cycle to start drawing attention from the mundanes. At least my toaster still works. Nice to have one thing in my life that still does what I ask, when I ask.

The school day passed as well as it could. Fortunately I have already cultivated enough of a remote aspect that I am able to turn a cold shoulder to Sayaka and keep from letting friction build during the day at least. After school will be a different matter, I know for sure. There is no point in attempting to delay the confrontation, so I do not. Probability leads me to try the roof of the school, which turns out to be the correct choice.

"Akemi-san, may I ask what are your intentions?" Mami spoke first, as soon as we met up.

"I have not yet ascertained the situation, so I have nothing which I can tell you, if that is what you ask."

"Right, whatever. Just so you know, we're going to the hospital to see someone important. If you creep him out or cause any kind of trouble there, I'm gonna go home and get my bat, my _new _one, and I'm gonna beat the stupid outta you, got it?!" I turn and straighten out my hair, because if I say what I think of Sayaka's threats, a fight will certainly break out, and I would rather not have to waste the time, or the bullets.

Of course I know who Sayaka intends to see, and why, and which room Kyoksuke Kamijo occupies, and in fact, I know a quicker route to that room than the one the blunette _bitch!_ decides to take. Revealing any of that would at this stage, however, would make a mess of things. Instead, I settle for scanning the empathic link. I need to know what is going on here before things get too far out of hand. The network seems to be fully intact, as best as I can tell, but quite "staticky" for want of a better term, like a phone with only 1 bar of reception.

Madoka and Mami stay out in the hallway with me while Sayaka goes in. Out of curiosity, I push out toward Madoka. No luck. Her line is severed entirely. I could hypothesize then that I retain links to the people who were extant when I activated the rewind function. Mami is still studiously neutral, across from me, while Madoka is making timid attempts to strike up a conversation. It is hard to tell if becoming friendly with her would make the situation better, or worse, so I settle for a few noncommittal answers. As for the link, a quick "check-up" pulse should give me more accurate information on what reach and connectivity I still possess. Then perhaps I could give Mami enough to gnaw on to take some pressure off myself. The pulse raced out, reporting links as it ranged out to them, one instantly, that would be Mami, and a second just after, Sayaka obviously, and a third . . . oh no!

"Mami Tomoe, be on your guard. A Witch will appear here shortly. You need to keep Sayaka and Madoka safe." Even as the blonde looked at me with suspicion, a commotion started up at the end of the hall. The words _It's Hikaru-san, she's coding!_ confirmed my fears, and I turned my head in time to see a flash of bright peach-orange burst from the room and dart across to the stairwell at the end of the hallway. It would be so much simpler to just go down there and put a mercy bullet in her head _Homura-chan, t-there is something else I need you to do_ but I cannot. I hold out hope that somehow things might go differently, but without fail I sense the flare of a Witch being born just minutes later.

"How did you know?" asked Mami, all business and not at all please.

"It is an intuition that I possess. I can explain after-" but it is no use, already Mami is moving to attack the Witch.

"Mami, please, allow me to handle this Witch. I am familiar with her capabilities."

"How is it, Akemi-san, that you know so much about a Witch that only hatched moments ago?" Mami left the real question unasked, but I of course am obliged to answer.

"As I said before, it is intuition. At least let me tell you how the Witch's powers work!"

"Would you be steering me to safety, Akemi-san, or away? I apologize for my rudeness," _like hell you do you arrogant bitch!_ "But you can see why I am concerned." We were now in the parking garage, almost to where the Barrier starts. Mami was smiling at me, but in just a moment she would whip out her ribbon and paralyze me, and this tragedy would play out exactly as it did last time.

As if on cue, Mami's Puella Magi costume appeared and her hand went to the decorative ribbon at her throat, willing it into life. God. Damnit. I am officially too old to put up with nonsense of this sort. Time halts. I draw out my Beretta and drop the magazine, slotting a fresh magazine in its' place, this one loaded with copper-jacketed slugs instead of the soft-nosed wadcutters that had been in there. I need to make the correct type of wounds for this to work. My hands work on their own, chambering a new round, raising the gun, and releasing a shot into the bubble of non-time around me. I permit time to resume, and the bullet slams into Mami's calf, breaking the bone underneath. It is a "nice" wound, as far as gunshots go, something that even a regular girl would recover from. For a Puella Magi, such a wound would be a bother measured in minutes only, maybe only a few tens of seconds for a girl who happened to be a stubborn idiot as well as a Puella Magi. But I don't need any more than that. Even as Mami stumbles and hisses a curse from the sudden pain, I am already past her, and through the Witch's Barrier.

Familiars scatter like autumn leaves before me as I blast through the saccharine-sweet maze. In very little time, I find myself in the center ring, facing the deceptively cute doll who runs this horror show. I stick her hard-candy head on the post of my gunsights and squeeze.

"You are not Ami Hikaru. You are not the lovely, dependable girl I never knew as well as I should have. And you will get no mercy from me." Bullets slam into the thing's body _even now I will not dirty Charlotte's name by letting this monster have it back_ and blow it into gooey chunks. But that is just the beginning. From the corpse rises a chocolaty phoenix. Easy prey.

Time hiccups and a bomb goes off in the thing's face. _die._ The thing sheds its' ruined skin as a snake might and reaches out again. And another bomb is waiting for it. _Die!_ This is almost like cruelty, it is so easy. Another body emerges from the wreck of the first. This time I draw the M-249. It's too heavy and bulky to be of much use anyway so I may as well use it up here. _you can't be who I need you to be, so I don't give you permission to exist!_ I haul back on the trigger, feeling the thrill as the weapon hurls out its' payload at the full 775 rounds per minute. Chunks of sponge-cake meat splatter in every direction as the weapon chews the monster to pieces. _DIE!_ The bolt locks open, the weapon spent. I cast it aside, since it has no more value to me. At the same time, the Grief Seed falls free from the monster.

A hand snatches up the fallen treasure before I can take it. A hand that is sheathed in a white glove over a deep blue sleeve. "I'll not leave the fruits of injustice and treachery for the likes of you!" Sayaka pockets the Grief Seed at the same time as she levels her sword at me. "Sayaka Miki, the Knight of Justice, will oppose evil wherever it appears, no matter what face it wears."

Now this is just too much. I could laugh, but it is just too cruel. This Sayaka isn't the Knight of Justice, and I will never get to see that person again. God save me!

"Wh-a-a-a-t?! How dare you! What other Sayaka could there be?!" I hear her, but I wish I hadn't. It speaks to two possibilities, and I cannot decide which is the more horrible; that I have so little control left that I might speak my thoughts aloud and not know, or that the wretched remains of the link are strong enough to betray me, even though they can't give me anything I want.

"You wouldn't understand, even if I told you."

"And you think wayyy too much of yourself!" Sayaka aims a sword at me for emphasis. "What is this 'link' anyway? And how do we get it to stop fucking with our heads?!"

God damn this whole world to hell! That I had to turn the wheel of samsarra again is bad enough, but for it to be one of these timelines is a fucking insult. My hands betray me again, and I feel the spoons of not one, but two grenades fly out from beneath my grip. I look at what I have in my hands to confirm what they are and then throw, the frag soft and the tear gas hard, and for once Sayaka and Mami do what I want them to, diving back to keep out of the shredding explosion and right into the choking gas. In the heart of the distraction, I leave.

* * *

I need space in which I can regroup, physically and mentally. Things are going too wrong, too quickly. My feet carry me of their own accord, without the input of my mind. I know not whether that is for the good or ill. Certainly every action I have taken on purpose in this cycle has led towards disaster, so perhaps I should let my feet find their own way.

Or perhaps not. When I stop running, many minutes later, I see that even my limbs work against me. All I can do is gaze up at the ruination _a fitting home for a god who gives no comfort! _before me. Well, it is certainly too late now. I go in.

Even now, this maltreated corpse of once-holy ground can make me pause, bring out impulses engrained in a substratum of my consciousness below even the great weight of my curse. I genuflect out of habit, make the sign of the Cross over my body as I was taught. My gestures are fast and sloppy, but the god of this church is in no position to complain. I make my way to the altar and there . . . I stop. What more can be done? I know not what my next move should be, nor do I know who I could possibly ask for guidance.

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want; He maketh me down to lie." That low and deceptively sweet voice could only belong to one soul, and for a moment I welcome her presence, _**"I think I've fallen in love with you, you fool . . ."**_ even though it means I am surely in deadly danger. Again.

"Through pastures green he leadeth me the silent waters by; With bright knives he releaseth my soul." she continued. I blink involuntarially; this certainly isn't how the Lord's Prayer went when I learned it. "He maketh me to hang on hooks in high places; He converteth me to lamb cutlets, For lo, he hath great power, and great hunger." The would-be priestess marked time with the measured, even clap of spear-butt on the floor. She was walking a fine line between reverence and insolence. Curious. "When cometh the day we lowly ones, through quiet reflection and great dedication, master the art of karate; Lo, we shall rise up and then we'll make the bugger's eyes water!" A laugh bursts from my lips before I could stop it.

"Was that what you were looking for?" asked Kyoko, with a smirk in her voice.

"Something like that," I replied.

"Good. Now who the hell are you, how did you know how to find this place, and why do I feel like I should know you?" The wicked tip of Kyoko's scorpion spear slashed through the air to aim at my throat. I fought the desire to flee _or embrace that lovely tongue and let it all end_ so that maybe I could yet salvage something useful from this encounter. Kyoko of all people might be more understanding of the improbable wickedness of fate. I marshaled my thoughts, for I will get at most one chance at this. And then the door burst open, and my opportunity was well and truly lost.

"Mami . . . ?" asked Kyoko, in a tone that was almost wistful and almost angry. Indeed, Mami was there, arrayed for battle as was Sayaka, and Madoka was with them as well, albeit hiding in the doorway.

"This is a curious place to find you, Akemi-san. If you had hoped for protection, I do not think you came to the right place." Mami raised a musket until I could see straight down the rifling, but the weapon was torn from her grasp by a spear-thrust. Kyoko twirled her weapon and grounded the head in a defensive stance as Mami gasped in surprise and rearmed.

"And why shouldn't she come here?" snapped Kyoko. "After all, this place is sanctuary for all who would ask forgiveness for their sins. Naivety, kindness, justice, all these things make us impure. We damned souls have only two choices; repent, or be destroyed!"

"Y-you monster! How dare you say such thing!" Sayaka raged at Kyoko, thrusting every word at the redhead with the point of her sword.

"Oh, and who might you be?" Kyoko turned her glare upon Mami. "Leading impressionable children astray once more, Mami-sempai? Kid, I don't know who you are, but I suggest you make peace with your dear and fluffy lord, cause this bitch fucked you over, and good."

"How dare you!" shouted Mami, and suddenly bullets filled the air. I watched as Kyoko soared through them as though they were nothing but rain, driving down hard upon Mami with murder in her heart. At the last moment a sword met her furious charge, and Sayaka managed to turn Kyoko aside. Then Sayaka began to spout off something about justice and I saw Kyoko's face register an expression best described as "!" and then her scorpion spear licked out, oh how I had forgotten what her horrible, awesome speed looked like when she was an enemy, and the strike slipped right through Sayaka's guard and slammed into her bare belly, strong enough to blow her clear through the one door which still stood. Mami then reached over and nearly succeeded at blowing Kyoko's head off with a point-blank scattershot.

BGM: Syrufit - Blossom - "Monochrome"

So this is it then. I can do nothing correctly. I fall into these girls' lives as a meteor of ill omen, and all I can do is cause them to hate one another. I have become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds.

Then so be it. Let me at least do my job quickly and well.

_Sorrow Sign ~ Shiganbana Bloom_

_The purple spider lilies grow and blossom all across the battlefield in response to Homura's Spellcard, and the sudden explosions drive all three of the other Puella Magi back. Homura draws her guns and her shield begins pulsing out its' time-twisting magic so that she appears to be almost flickering in place, and her guns throw shots down upon all her targets all at once. The stroboscopic effect of her time manipulation makes Homura appear to have four arms, the very image of Shiva._

_All the Puella Magi are forced on the defensive, for Homura aims not to disable nor inflict wounds. Her every shot is aimed at a Soul Gem, and with her dreadful accuracy and terrible purpose, the question is not _if_ but _when_ will she succeed?_

_A single figure closes the range with Homura, threading through the pews for cover. Homura recognizes the threat and shifts aim, her shots splintering wood but failing to find flesh. There is a momentary flicker in Homura's deadly aspect- she must reload in order to keep up the attack, although in her current state, the action appears more like a sinuous wave rippling down her arms. Two empty magazines hit the ground as near enough as simultaneously and the slides slam shut, making Homura ready to deal death once more-_

_-and then Madoka hits the black-haired girl with a passable tackle, wrapping her arms around Homura out of instinct more than anything as they both fall._

_"Homura-chan, please! Please!" Tears rain down upon Homura, and for a moment she is confused as her fugue falls away. Realization comes for Homura, and then her eyes slip closed._

Don't be kind to me !

* * *

_"Okay, settle down, everyone, take your places!"_

_"Again? Really? How many times are you going to make us go through this?!"_

_"Until you get it right, of course!"_

_"Fine, fine, but who wrote this script, anyway? I would never do something like this!"_

_"Sure you wouldn't . . . or are you just afraid you might like it too damn much, and not wanna have to stop after the show's over?"_

_"In your dreams, you filthy delinquent!"_

_"Hey, look at it from my perspective, _I'm_ the one who has to marry down!"_

_"Wh-a-a-a-t?! How do you figure that?"_

_"Well, you won't catch up to my magnificence with a thousand years of practice, Newbie!"_

_"Whatever. Sempai, are you really going to make us keep practicing? I mean, half the cast isn't even here . . ."_

* * *

I awaken upon a bed which feels soft and pleasant in a room which smells soft and pleasant as well. My eyes feel sticky, and they take the longest to respond, but I don't need to see to know where I am. I am quite familiar with Madoka's bedroom, even if I haven't been here since-

-since we went over to Gensokyo for the battle-

-which cost Madoka her life, and me my hope of ever being with her again-

-so where am I?

My eyes snap open, and inform me that yes, this is Madoka's bedroom, complete with huge pile of stuffed animals _and no Kyubey among them, thank God for small favors!_ and a real, live Madoka as well.

"How are you feeling, Homura-chan?"

"Surprised," I replied honestly, before I could catch myself. "I expected one of the Puella Magi would have put me out of their misery after I fainted." the flippant, coarse honesty was unstoppable. Kyoko brings out the worst in me.

"I wouldn't let them." Madoka puffed up with pride as she said this, and I felt the urge to laugh. I could imagine her hugging my body to herself and giving the others a look that would say "I'll hate you forever if you hurt her", and I could imagine that working quite well. But the laughter doesn't come, because if I let my control slip now, I might break into tears that would never stop. Even now, in a cycle where she barely knows me, where I have given her nothing but terror and danger, Madoka still tries to save me.

"The others have a bunch of questions for you, if you are up to giving them answers. They could all feel your pain while you were asleep. Will you let us help you, Homura-chan, please?"

Indeed. I miss Madoka so much it almost kills me to be in the same room as her, and the petty selfishness in that very thought _I want _my_ Madoka back, the one who is almost perfectly in-tune with __me and who can find it in her heart to love me, wicked as I am_ makes me so ashamed I want to die.

"I can talk to them, yes, and I hope they can believe what I say. Wait, is it afternoon already?" I look at the clock in disbelief, to which Madoka giggles.

"It's _Thursday_ afternoon, Homura-chan! You were really out of it for a while there."

"And your mother was okay with this?"

"Of course! When we couldn't find where you lived, I took you in. I hope you don't mind."

"Uh, not at all." My cheeks burned, and the realization that I was currently dressed in pajamas made me even more embarrassed, further intensifying the burn.

* * *

We met up in Mami's apartment. She seemed to be on somewhat even terms with Kyoko now, or perhaps Madoka ordered a blanket truce. Sayaka sat between the two of them for safety's sake though, and they all gave me looks best described as wary. I began by summoning my Soul Gem and setting it down on the table between us. A peace gesture, although if I were to be honest with myself, I did not entirely care if one of them smashed it and ended me. Having Madoka by my side made it worse, because now I had something that I could lose once more.

"See that right there, that's your problem. Who the hell _are_ you, that you know us? It's seriously creeping me out here! And what's up with that deathwish?!" Sayaka snapped, and I realized that yet again, the link was leaking. I sigh, and start packing my mind back into the box it had been in, the one labeled "Sayaka and Kyoko are being naughty again". I got one last suspicious look from her, as though she caught a bit of the label I put on the box.

"What you are hearing is an empathic link, created when two Puella Magi physically connect their Soul Gems." There, chew on that for a bit.

"Bwaah? What the hell? That can't be right! I've never done this 'link' thing with anyone, and I wasn't even a Puella Magi yet when I started hearing things from you!"

"Technically, it's Kyoko's fault. She linked to you first, then to me." That caused this Kyoko to just stop and stare at me, gobsmacked. The Pocky stick fell out of her mouth and into her lap, which was worth the price of admission itself. She then turned to the others and put her hands up in a placating gesture, as if to say "don't look at me, I didn't do it".

"So you know us, but we don't know you, Akemi-san . . . " I see Mami is beginning to get it.

"I come from a parallel and future time. My wish permits me to rewind time to a specific point, in order to fulfill my goal." I drew a slow breath, trying to steady my nerve at least a little bit. "That goal is to keep Madoka Kaname from being destroyed as a result of her contracting to become a Puella Magi." Surprise lit up across the table, a wholly unsurprising response. I ignored equally the harsh, sarcastic laughter from Kyoko and Sayaka's exclamation of "What the hell, you creeper?!" with a shake of my head and then I shook out my hair, just to be sure everything was as it should be, of course. Time to let the other shoe drop.

"Please understand what I mean. To date, my best success has been only to delay reset until September 17th of this year, and that run was made with resources we do not possess and cannot obtain."

I hear cries of "What the fuck?!" in stereo, and then I am rewarded with seeing Kyoko and Sayaka turn to each other in mutual surprise and bristle over the fact that they had the same thought. It looked much like two unfriendly cats dropped into a box together, and I expected to see blood and fur flying at any moment.

"What do we lack here, Akemi-san?" asked Mami, an altogether more relevant question. I hesitated, trying to weigh what I could safely tell these girls, when a new presence sealed my lips entirely.

"Kyubey . . . " I said, and I couldn't help but snarl a bit. Sure enough, the little bastard strutted in out of nowhere and leaped onto Mami's shoulder and slinked around her. There he pranced back and forth in imitation of a cat, before settling into place. My mind's eye started to make a connection _she always did love to curl up in pillows_ which I buried in a deep and dark place. Letting him know what I know would be worse than disastrous.

"I have nothing more to say," I said, and instead I cut a slice from the pie Mami had provided with exquisitely slow care, and carefully plated the dessert before picking up a fork with which I took small, delicate bites. After a good two minutes of this routine, Kyubey took the hint and jumped down. He turned to leave, thankfully, but before he exited the apartment he turned and "said" to us, _I do not understand your antipathy, Homura Akemi. I merely wished to see how Sayaka Miki was settling in as a Puella Magi. Sayaka, you made your contract in order to be able to save Mami, did you not? If such a situation were to arise again, who would come to rescue you? It appears you are evenly matched at the moment. Are you comfortable with this arrangement, Madoka Kaname? And if the balance of power should need to change, what would you do?_ Leaving his question hanging malodorously in the room, Kyubey finally left. I let out a breath which I had not been aware I was holding. Time to change the equation a bit.

"I find that I am still hungry. Would anyone like to come with me for dinner? My treat, of course." I received nods of agreement from around the table, some more enthusiastic than others. It was like pulling puppet-strings; Kyoko wasn't capable of saying no to free food, and Madoka, bless her heart would come along for my sake, and that meant Sayaka and Mami would come as well, to protect her.

Mami put a hand on my shoulder and pressed me back as the others went out the door. I knew what was coming next, and so I waited for her move. "One more question, if I may?" I nodded assent. I had an explanation ready for why I hated Kyubey, one that even have the advantage of technically being true.

"Who is 'Nova'?" My heart froze as Mami threw the unexpected question at me. I knew Madoka had told me I had broadcast some things while I was unconscious, but I didn't realize I had let anything like that slip.

"You need not worry about her. She will not become a factor in our situation."

"Akemi-san, if you expect us to trust you, you need to be honest with us. You put too much weight on that person for her not to be significant. Why do you hate her so?"

"If I tell you that she is directly responsible for me being her in this loop again, will that suffice?"

"It will, I suppose," replied Mami. "But I don't see how I would become friends with such a person."

"Things happen." It sounded lame even to my ears, but I had nothing else I could say, not until my own feelings on the matter settled themselves out.

* * *

Dinner permitted the others to relax slightly, and as the tension gradually released, we had an evening that could almost be called pleasant. Of course, several questions were thrown my way, none of them comfortable. Kyoko of all people managed to spell it out best.

"Okay, so we're all doomed, we're gonna die horrible lingering deaths, either to this Walpurgis or these other threats you won't tell us about, and you're going to have to do this all over again. So why do you keep trying?" she had asked, punctuating every other word it seemed with a sushi roll. I was glad that the price of this meal was being covered by funds I had looted from the Yakuza, otherwise I would be in real trouble.

"Because there is always a chance, however slim, that this cycle will be different. I will go to any length that is necessary if it means succeeding once and for all." There, I said it. Now fate can come and kick me all it wants.

"B-b-but why me?" Madoka stammered out the question I had least wanted to hear. "I'm not smart, or brave, or strong, so why would you go through all that trouble for me?" Oh, what the hell? It can't make anything worse, can it?

"Because when I originally came to Mitikahara, the first time, I wasn't smart, or brave, or strong either. You saved me, Madoka. I wished that I could do the same for you. And I intend to keep my promise." Strange. The others were looking at me as though they almost believed me for once. I shall have to write that one down, in case I ever have to do this again.

By the time dinner ended, things were going as well as I could possibly ask, given the circumstances. If I had told the others that I knew something was going to go wrong yet tonight, just because of that, they would have called me paranoid. I hoped beyond all hope that they were right.

Then a flash of summer green caught my eye. _No! Anything but that, please!_ Oh cruel world, what have I done to wrong you, that you would throw this upon us, now? They aren't ready! _I'm_ not ready!

"Hey, what the hell Homerun!" I heard Kyoko shout from far behind me. I am already running. My only chance is to strike at the heart of this goddamned curse, before it can strike at me. Of course, it is bitterly amusing, that the power behind this new threat should be efficient only when it is least useful. I activate my timestop in order to close the last measure of distance. This must go perfectly.

I slam into Sanae Kochiya at an angle as I emerge from frozen time, unbalancing her. A palm strike to the shoulder spins her around and spilled the ofuda she had just drawn out of her hand. I seize her throat in my right hand and pin her to the wall. But that is only part of the problem taken care of. A flick of my wrist gives enough momentum for my shotgun to exit the dimensional pocket in my shield and fall into my hand, and then a hard shake pumps and cocks the weapon. My aim is based only on intuition, but a shoe scrape on concrete tells me my guess was correct.

"Sakuya Izayoi, touch that pocket watch and I will blow you so far to hell the Yama won't even have a chance to judge you." My threat is sufficient to make her pause. Sometimes being cool and rational isn't a virtue.

But of course I have overlooked something, as the whispering of steel tells me. I turn to look, and as expected, there is Youmu Konpaku, falling upon me like the hand of judgment. I might be able to stop time and counterattack, and possibly I could defeat all three of them, but what would be the point? The grief-stricken rage of a being such as Reimu or Marisa would obliterate us all in a way that Walpurgisnacht would have to work her god-damned ass off to match. And for what? Every step I have taken since turning the hourglass has been wrong. Maybe that's the point. In every cycle, only two things have remained constant: Madoka Kaname has died . . . and I have been present. Perhaps that is the answer. I can save her, but only by dying myself. If I had not inflicted myself upon her, maybe none of this would have happened. In that case . . . I look skyward to see death descending upon me. _Here I am, come and get me._

The screech of steel against steel shocks me from my reverie. I look up to see Kyoko's spear explode into its' constituent links and wrap around Youmu. She is too shocked by the sudden reversal to break free immediately and an instant is all the time Kyoko needs, bless her wicked heart.

"Hey, that's my meal-ticket you're trying to skewer there," says the redhead casually as she twists her spear, and Youmu is smashed flip, flop into one wall of the alleyway then the other before being discarded like an empty snack-wrapper. It seems the world is not yet done with me. But somehow I cannot find it in myself to be angry. I let myself smile for a moment as Sayaka and Mami come running up, ready for battle as well, and Madoka just behind them. Now, I have options again, and maybe I, no _we_, can turn this fate around.

But no. I see another figure following along in their wake, and it seems I have no options after all. Once again I throw the switch and bring time to a halt. Fast as thought I let go of Sanae and draw my Beretta from my shield, keeping the shotgun aimed at Sakuya in case she tries to step into this realm that only we two can enter. Two shots should be enough, three would be plenty, but I keep shooting and shooting and shooting until the slide locks open. I have my reasons. My hold on time releases and the bullets all arrive at their target at once. Kyubey explodes into fluffy white chunks.

"Sanae." I command the shrine maiden's attention. I ignore the various screams from behind me, no time for niceties now. "I need you to open the portal and take us back to Gensokyo, now." I see she is going to protest. "Take us to Yukari Yakumo when we get there. Last time it took seventeen of us to fight her, and we only managed a draw, so just the four of us could not be a threat. But let me assure you if you do not act immediately, this entire world, ours and yours will be in danger." Sanae's eyes bug out as I spill this information so casually upon her. God grant me this one tiny favor, that Sanae still obeys when a hand cracks the whip.

"Hey, you wanna humor the crazy girl already? I've got school tomorrow!" Sayaka shook her fist at Sanae, which drew a look of incredulity, then resignation.

"We'll have to head to the exit. We can only jump between the worlds from one specific spot." As we walked, I didn't even need the empathic link to feel the disbelief coming off my companions as we moved through the gaudy Lights District. Mitikahara was something of a "model city" and so even the powers of the underworld operated in an environment that was, physically at least, more clean and cheerful than not. Of all the dreadful revelations of the evening, hopefully this one would pass without too much comment.

"You _cannot_ be serious!" Sayaka shouted when we reached our destination: the back parking lot of the infamous cosplay club Kageyama. "You realize that if my father catches us here, none of us will survive long enough to die at the hands of your Wallpaper-whatever monster, right?"

"Understood," I replied. "If I may ask, what was your reasoning for setting this place as your transfer point?" I asked Sanae, as she fingered the charm which let her communicate with the other Gensokyans. Funny, as many times as we moved between the worlds in the previous cycle, and only now do I bother to ask.

"Well, where else could you have girls come and go at all hours without arousing suspicion?" replied Sanae.

"Were you not worried about being attacked?" I asked, uneasy in this place, and not solely for Madoka's sake. Sanae just looked at Sakuya, who was making a point of sharpening one of her knives against a steel mounted upon her wrist-brace, the one which contained eight more weapons ready to throw, and then to Youmu, who was holding her katana in its' sheath possessively.

"Not really." A moment later, the portal opened, and we were drawn through, the world around us smearing to a blur. The gasps of surprise when we were spat out on the other side reminded me that I had forgotten how much the magically-charged air of Gensokyo could affect a Puella Magi. No matter. This was one surprise the others didn't particularly complain about. At the top of the stairs leading up to Hakurei Shrine, I saw Reimu waiting for us . . . along with Yukari. Good. That will make things quicker.

"When I said 'find the source of the disturbance', I didn't mean 'and then bring it home for tea and cakes', Sanae." Yukari said, archly. So when she is not enraged beyond sanity, the Border Youkai is almost amusing. Something to file away for later.

"Sorry, they kinda shanghai'd me." A wholly inappropriate snicker escaped from me before I could stop it. All eyes turned upon me, waiting for an explanation. An opportunity, if I can break my abysmal streak of mistakes.

"Do you still use that definition here? I would have thought being shanghai'd here would mean being handed a small blonde doll, which then explodes violently in your face." I replied, casually as I could. That got a snort of laughter out of Reimu, at least.

"How is it, Outsider, that you know so much about our world?" Yukari asked, and the tone of voice told me I was now dealing with the Yukari with whom I was more familiar.

"It is simple. Up until a week ago tomorrow, I was in Gensokyo helping Reimu and Byakuren, among others, overthrow you and terminate you for misdeeds stemming from a botched iteration of the expedition you sent Sanae and the others upon." The words seemed to spill from me, no, they were being _purged_ from my psyche as the body might purge a poisoned stomach, and I was unsure if I could stop them. Looking at the shock and outrage on the faces around me, I wasn't sure if I _wanted_ to stop them. "During the battle, you took from me something more precious to me than life itself." I realized my fists were clenched at my side. I was daring her to take offense. Picking a fight with Yukari Yakumo, here, alone, unprepared, was nothing less than insane. Suicidal even. So be it. She declined to take the bait, so after a long moment, I continued. "When that happened, I rewound time to this point in order to try again." There. I had said my piece.

"Oh. So you're the one who damned this world to utter obliteration. I was wondering who had done that."


	14. Terrible Souvenir

**Episode 14: Terrible Souvenir**

"Damn, you're good!" Sayaka, snide as ever, was first to speak. "Not only have you managed to completely screw up our lives, you've damned the _whole world_! Impressive!" She smirked for just a moment. "Now how do we fix it?"

"Well, it would help if I knew how I broke it in the first place," I replied. I ran a hand through my hair, to make sure it was in place. A sloppy appearance will lead to a sloppy mind, after all.

"Uh, hello? Your stupid time-rewind broke it!"

"I have walked this same path more than a thousand times. Never before has it broken anything."

"Well, maybe the warranty ran out or something!" I rolled my eyes. No further comment was required.

"Perhaps if I might examine you more thoroughly, I could find an explanation." Yukari gave me an appraising look.

"Reimu, perhaps you would be willing to accompany us?" I turned back to look Yukari in the eye. "Not that I don't trust you or anything, but I was just fighting to depose you a week ago." That earned a single arched eyebrow, but nothing more.

"And what do you expect Reimu could do if I decide to exterminate you? No offense, dear." Reimu was gritting her teeth at the honeyed sarcasm rolling off Yukari's tongue.

"Her Ying-Yang Orb has proven quite adept at countering your manipulation of borders in the past, and that would buy me enough time at least to draw some of my guns and splatter your head all over the wall," I replied, nonchalantly.

"Alright, that's enough outta you!" snarled Reimu. "Marisa isn't here, so I shouldn't be hearing any idiotic, impossible boasts!"

In the end, Reimu had gotten as far as letting Mami see the kitchen, and that was that. She began cooking something which I was certain was going to be of absolutely no nutritional value whatsoever, and absolutely delicious besides. I must admit, her method of coping with interpersonal tension is much nicer and less expensive than, say, Kyoko's. I sat on the floor and Reimu and Yukari sat down across from me, and began studying me intently. It was highly discomforting _noo! not another needle! I don't care if I die, no more needles! _but at least it was fast. We Puella Magi are more for the "practical" sort of magic, so I wasn't sure exactly what was going on, but I could feel what seemed like the searches we used for Witches pouring over me.

"Well, that's a simple enough matter," said Yukari after she and Reimu had compared "notes" for a short time. "You are physically here in this timeline, but you retain connections to the other timeline. We have a while until things go wrong, but as we catch up to where you made the rewind, the dissonance of those paradoxical connections will start to shake this reality to pieces. On September 18th of this year, when our timeline passes yours, the bindings will snap and recoil upon each reality."

"That sounds bad," Understatement of the year, I know, but I can hardly be expected to understand what in hell this wench is saying.

"You could say that. The recoil effect will cause an explosion with an energy equal to one-half the total of all the potential energy gathered in the universe over the duration of the split. If you want to be precise, the detonation will be centered at Myouren Temple, but I don't think the exact location will matter much to any of the inhabitants of this arm of the galaxy."

"So, how do we fix it?"

"Well, we would need to rectify the links somehow, either by tying them off on this side, or reintegrating this reality with your original one." Yukari looked at me carefully. "By your face, you do not appear to like either of those options. However, it isn't as though I can simply pluck other options from thin air. There's magic, and then there's _magic_, after all."

"You leave me with no real choice. I know of the links you speak of, and there is no way to tie them off on this side, because two of the people with whom I am linked do not exist in this world." I saw Yukari start to speak, and held up a hand to forestall her. No need to waste time with the obvious. "I am well aware of the Shinigami, and I'm sure you could easily bring someone back from the dead, but one of the missing people is truly _missing._ Turning Kyubey into Nova Floresca was a one-in-a-million aberration, and attempting to do so again would quite likely tip our hand to powers which do not wish us to be aware of their existence." I shook my head, What I would say next sounded bold to the point of arrogance even to me, but hopefully it would get the point across. "The battle I was in, the battle to depose you, Yukari, saw the likes of Fujiwara no Mokou, Sariel, Yuuka Kazami join the battle, united against you. And that was what amounted to the _dress rehearsal._ We were trying to clear out anything that might bother us as we prepared to defend ourselves against the forces sent by the Incubators to annihilate this planet.

"And that is the other choice, to return to that world, that battle. A battle I do not know if it can be won, even if we can repair all the damage that was done." I looked long and hard into Yukari's eyes. "At the very least I will need time to consider my options."

"Understandable," A ghostly smile crossed Yukari's lips. "I would say 'take all the time you need', but that appears to be what got us into this mess in the first place." Perhaps I deserved that.

"I should think an evening, at least, is not too much to ask." I went to go rejoin the others, but Mami stopped me and steered me into the kitchen.

"So when were you going to tell me who Nova actually was?" Mami asked. Her eyes simmered with . . . something, I couldn't quite tell what.

"I wasn't. Next question?"

"And why not?!"

"For one thing, if you were eavesdropping, then you heard me describe what we were going against. I do not wish to visit that hell upon this place without reason, and if you should happen to ask Kyubey about any of what I know, that would surely occur." Mami was coming around, I could see, but she was not yet satisfied. I really don't want to have to deal with my feelings on the matter yet, but thus far, only one wish I have ever made has been granted, and even that has not gone well. "And for two, does it truly matter where she came from? In the end, she was just like any of us, strong in some places and frail in others, and the strain of this cruel world caused her Soul Gem to tarnish, and she fell, as any of us might." And that was that. I went into the main room, on the slim chance that perhaps some of Mami's confectionery had survived the wrath of Kyoko, or even just some tea. I wasn't particularly hungry, but I need something with which to busy myself while I weighed my options. Besides, it is Mami's cooking after all. Exceptions must be made.

"So what's this about Kyubey being a girl now?" asked Sayaka. I felt an uncontrollable spasm begin to take over my eyelid as I tried to come up with a reasonable answer. This surely must be unhealthy, but then again, so was what I wanted to do to the real culprit.

"You! You let them listen in!" I pointed an accusing finger at Yukari.

"Of course," replied Yukari. She didn't even bother to try and deny it! Infuriating beast! "You said you needed time to figure out what to do. Five heads are better than one, no?"

"Only when they have a full five brains amongst them!" I snap back. Petty, I know, but it feels good.

"Hey! Are you saying I don't have brain?!" came a shout from the other room. How typical.

"Sayaka Miki, why is it whenever I make mention of mindless incompetence, you get offended? Have you something you need to share with us?" Sayaka starts to splutter, and then Kyoko starts to giggle, and that sets the blunette completely over the edge. Good enough, for now.

"What are you going to do, Homura-chan?"

"I don't know." There, I said it. Let someone else come up with a plan for once.

"Well, what's so bad about this 'reintegration' thing, anyway?"

"Aside from being thrown right back into the middle of an extremely deadly conflict . . . How do you two feel about swapping spit on a regular basis?" I don't know what cause the flip sarcasm to come to mind, but it was out of my mouth before I could stop it. There was a matched set of bug-eyed expressions facing me.

"What!? No way! You're making that up!" Sayaka was on her feet, raging. I saw what was going to happen next as soon as the idea formed in Kyoko's head. I managed not to spoil the surprise until the redhead slipped her foot out and kicked Sayaka's feet out from beneath her, causing her to spill to the floor.

"Shaddup, Blueberry! It's not like you're such a catch yourself! What, did the other me have terminal brainworms or something?"

"Why you! I'll- Gahhh!" Sayaka pounced upon Kyoko, fists flying. For her part, Kyoko rolled with the punches, and even managed to turn the tables her attacker. Now she was giving as good as she was getting, and both of them would be looking pretty shabby by the end of this, if not for the healing factor of their Soul Gems. Mami meanwhile simply slid out of the way, as she was well accustomed to Kyoko's brash nature. I was more disturbed by Reimu's lack of concern at the brawl breaking loose in her living room. Maybe the unusual events we were a party to in the last cycle weren't that unusual after all? That doesn't bode well for our living quiet, peaceful lives after all this settles down.

"Okay, that's enough!" I clapped my hands for attention when Kyoko managed to get her hands around Sayaka's throat, and when that proved insufficient, I gave Kyoko a helpful kick in the ribs to dislodge her. "You two started by trying to kill each other in the last cycle too, but that quickly turned to a different kind of screaming and tearing at one another's clothing." That got the job done quick enough. The two problems seemed to teleport back into their respective seats, and they had identical expressions of downturned eyes and steaming red ears.

"I think you should go back." I looked at Madoka. I had heard her words, but I couldn't understand yet what she meant. "The people in the other world, they were your friends, weren't they?"

"I-" No use in denying it, I suppose. "Yes, they were."

"Then, you should go back to them!"

"Haven't you heard what I've said? They are on the brink of destruction! What if I lose them?"

"Are you saying you haven't lost them already?"

"W-what do you mean?" Damnit, I can't afford to lose myself again. I must not break down!

"Homura-chan," Madoka had a sad smile on her face. "I've seen it ever since you came here. You're always on the verge of saying something, doing something, and then you stop yourself, because we're not who you think we are. I can't imagine anything so sad as that."

"Hey, Homerun, can I ask you a question?" Kyoko looked at me, but her eyes were still downcast, and her face still flushed red. I nodded, not trusting what might come out of my mouth if I spoke. This is a new turn for her, I have no idea what's coming next. "Was I happy? In your world?"

"Yes. You were as well off as any of us, and better than some, if not brittle."

"Then do it. Go back. If this time-travel story isn't just some crazy lie, then you know my past. I'd rather go to oblivion knowing some form of me somewhere is happy, rather than living this dead-end life."

"For what it is worth, I am also in favor of reintegration." Yukari spoke from out of nowhere. "If nothing else, I would like to slap silly this shade which has so tarnished my reputation. Honestly! To think that there is a version of me that could so bungle things that Reimu would feel the need to attack me! And to think she might win? Unconscionable!" Haughty words, of course, but I could hear the note of worry beneath. Circumstance could lay even the mightiest of mightys low, it seemed. The thought warmed my heart greatly.

"Very well, then. Are you ready to perform the spell?" Yukari started to reply, only to be cut off.

"Whoa, whoa, wait!" Sayaka cried out. "We're just gonna do it, here and now? Shouldn't we go and say our goodbyes, or something?"

"There's no need. For all intents and purposes, nobody is going anywhere. You will simply begin to exist somewhere else, and what few memories you have from this branch of the divergence will be no more than a sour daydream, and fade away just as quickly. Well, those of you who are whole on the other side.

"Madoka will be a bit weak and disoriented when the reintegration finishes. We're basically 'averaging out' two separate people here, so you're going to feel like you're half-dead when you merge. Which is technically correct, I suppose. And from the images I gathered, I've lost most of an arm in the fight?" I nodded. Damn, this is going to take away the one bit of good Nova did in the fight! I suppose the saying is 'beggars can't be choosers'. "Yeah, that's gonna sting like a bitch." Yukari stepped to the middle of the room and a circle formed, inscribed with a diagram of incredible complexity, glowing with radiant light. Yukari beckons me forward. I hesitate for just a moment. A simple touch on my shield tells me the exact status of my entire arsenal. It will have to suffice. In this place, where I have been so thoughtlessly honest, I must admit the reason I hold back is because I am scared. I don't like being backed into a corner, and I really don't like fights where I have no hope of winning. This might be both. But no amount of shying back will save me from what Fate has woven. Time to face up to what I have created. I step into the circle. Yukari begins to chant her spell . . .

* * *

BGM: Syrufit - Where is Love - "Kizu Kakushi"

BGM: 2:49

_When will we next meet?_

_Will my wishes be granted?_

Nova raised her hand for another strike-

-and Yukari raised her own restored hand and threw out a barrier, pushing the berserk Incubator back. A gap immediately swallowed the Border Youkai and she then reappeared on the other side of the room. The strange, off-color simulacrum of the world shattered and deposited the combatants back into the courtyard proper. Almost immediately, however, the world began to change once more. For a moment, the world seemed to become a desolate black glass nightmare, but only for a moment. However, the real world seemed to have no firmer anchor, and the glass struggled to overwhelm the landscape once more. Copper-jacketed slugs slammed into Nova, high on her chest, but instead of the splatter of bullets tearing through meat, there came the crunching of blackened-iron armor resisting the hits.

_Where are you going?_

_The sun will rise.._

"What's happening now?!" Byakuren cried out, eying the treacherous, shifting landscape.

"Don't look at me!" Yukari shouted back. "I dispelled my Border!"

"It is a Witch's Barrier, trying to form." replied Homura. She shifted her aim, targeting the one spot that could stop Nova before she went truly over. _I'll let the others shed what tears are needed _was Homura's one thought as she got ready to fire, but then the black glass was back and suddenly Nova was _right there_, sliding out of the shadows at the edge of Homura's vision. There was no time for her to react, barely even enough time for horror to take hold. With a shriek of rage, the ex-Incubator struck not with her void, but with her free hand outstretched like a claw. There came a horrible wet tearing sound, and gore washed Nova's arm as she plunged her claw-hand into her victim clear up to the elbow.

Homura stumbled into a sitting position from where she had rolled away from the attack. At first, it appeared as though Nova had wrenched blood from the empty air, but then there appeared a figure around the terrible wound. Only a few of the combatants present recognized who it was they were seeing, and those that did gasped with shock. Koishi Komeji, the girl whose closed eyes blinded all others to her presence, had been at the temple alongside her sister the whole time, but only now that her life was gushing out onto Nova's feet did any of them see her.

Incubator, grant me my wish.

Recognition caused the little bit of humanity which remained within Nova Floresca to assert itself temporarially, stunning her with the realization. She stood still as a statue as Koishi took her collar in both hands and dragged her in close, so that only her ears could hear Koishi's next words.

"Become someone who I could love once more." Unearthly light surrounded the pair, casting both into shadow for a moment as the spell did its' work. Nova's hand clenched of its' own accord and withdrew from the terrible wound she had caused, and when she pulled completely free of Koishi's body, she was holding a blaze of light.

"Oh, good, it worked," Koishi mumbled, as she pried the source of the brilliant light free from Nova's hand. As soon as she touched it, the Soul Gem shrank doing into a single bright streak, only whereas for a Human that beam would end up touching down on her finger, for Koishi it shot beneath the lid of her Third Eye. After a moment, the stitching melted away and the Eye opened for the first time in an age.

"Myaaa . . . what happened?" Nova shook her head, trying to clear it, and then she scrabbled back in disgust after realizing she had sat down in a pool of gore. "It worked, huh? Wait-" Nova took a look at her blood-soaked hand, then back at Koishi, then at her hand once more.

"Y-you let yourself get hit without knowing what would happen? Are you crazy?!"

"Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time."

"What if you had been killed before you could make a wish? What if the wish hadn't-" A tap on the shoulder interrupted the ex-Incubator's rant.

"Ahem." Homura looked down upon Nova with anger smoldering in her eyes. "You would be well advised to stand up, _shut up_, and count your blessings." The black-haired girl flicked a hand through her hair, and Nova could see now the fatigue tamping down the fire in Homura's eyes. "Today has been an _extremely_ long day, and I for one would like to see it end." That got a half-nod from Nova. Without the power of a soul-shattering rage coursing through her, Nova was remembering that she was slightly shorter than Homura . . . and still afraid of the black-haired girl. Homura then reached out a hand, causing Nova to quail back for a moment, until she realized what the other was offering.

"I-is everything okay?" asked Nova as she was pulled to her feet.

"Perhaps the madness of this place has overtaken my senses," replied Homura a bit wistfully. Meanwhile, at the other end of the courtyard, Reimu looked down at Yukari, who was still sitting on the ground after having been dumped from her emergency exit. The shrine maiden drew a handful of ofuda and contemplated the figure upon the ground.

"So are we done here?" Reimu asked, although her voice put it as more of a command.

"I believe so, yes." came the reply.

"Well, all's well that ends, I say." Reimu offered Yukari a hand up as well.

"Wait, so does that mean we win?" asked Suika. The little oni appeared to be hanging intently upon the answer.

"Well, I'd call it more of a forfeit," replied Reimu. "But technically, yes, the good guys won." said the shrine maiden, with a bit of a smirk on her face.

"Yay! That means we can get on with the victory drinks!" Suika cried happily, and hoisted her gourd to begin.

"I think that sounds like a wonderful idea. If it pleases you all, I believe a celebration is in order, and I would be most happy to provide." replied Byakuren, slipping back to the role of beatific saint with only a moment's hesitation.

"How do you _do_ that?" Miko grumbled.

"Taishi-chan, if you intend to remain by my side, one day you will have the pleasure of giving orders to Captain Minamitsu Murasa, and in doing so you will be given the opportunity to hone many saintly virtues to perfection." Byakuren favored her student with a warm smile. "Or you'll die with your hands locked around her throat, and hers about yours." Miko blinked in surprise.

"Well, if the time comes, I hope I'll manage it as successfully as you did," replied Miko, to which Byakuren laughed.

"Oh no, we went the 'strangling one another' route more times than not. But we were already _in_ Makai; what more could come of it?"

"Oh."

* * *

"Thank you, for saving me." Nova bowed her head to Koishi in one of the side corridors of the Temple. Even there, a raucous clamor filled the air; Byakuren was putting on a grand victory feast indeed. Apparently, the Youchrist had been so confident in their triumph that the kitchen had begun the preparations before the first blow was even struck. However, the main table was a strictly Gensokyan affair; the Puella Magi were sitting separate for the time being. That was perhaps not the wisest course of action, and yet no one could begrudge the girls their necessary time to regroup.

"I haven't saved you, not yet," replied Koishi. Nova eyed the other girl strangely; she didn't have a lot to go on, but the girl with the pale green hair was quite odd. And then there was the matter of the blue ball on her chest- Nova had heard it called a "Third Eye", and she knew from dealing with Satori that it was the focus of their kind's powers, but that alone didn't explain why Nova could feel it looking at her constantly, even when the eyelid was closed. Even when Koishi had been out of the room, finding a clean shirt to replace her old one, she had felt that gaze upon her. It was also handy, though, or at least Koishi hadn't needed any briefing on how to work the new powers she had wished for. Speaking of, there was the curious factor of Koishi's Soul Gem itself, which had disappeared when she willed it away. The iris of her Third Eye had changed into a heart-shape and shimmered with a diamond radiance, which Nova recognized as the mark all Puella Magi received . . . _but that's supposed to go on your fingernail like, er, mine?_ A thrill of confusion took Nova when she looked down at her hand- her mark was still there, but the red teardrop was gone, replaced by a linked set of circles in red. _Ahh, whatever. It's not like there's an instruction manual for this stuff anyway._

Koishi poked Nova in the shoulder, jarring the white-haired girl from her thoughts. Nova saw a broad grin on her companion's face and her sensitivity gave her an impression of bubbly warmth, and suddenly it seemed like Koishi was the only thing in the whole world as the other leaned in closer. While she wasn't sure what was happening, the feeling made Nova lightheaded with giddy excitement, like things were about to go rushing out of her control and she was looking forward to that ride! Then Koishi flinched as though suddenly burned.

"Uh-oh. I'm so sorry, but I gotta go. Good thing you topped up my Soul Gem after the fight, I think Sis is gonna kill me!" And with that, Koishi turned and dashed off. Nova let out a long, winding sigh as the curious feeling drained from her. There was still work to be done. _I don't know what she took with her, but I want it back!_

* * *

The mood in the room the Puella Magi had taken for themselves was somber. Madoka was withdrawn, Sayaka and Kyoko looked somewhat depressed, and Mami was down just from seeing everyone else unhappy.

"Really, Akemi-san, you should eat. I know you're not happy, none of us are-"

"That is not it. Honestly." Homura flicked out her hair and glared daggers at Mami. "Did you not hear me explain how Yukari's repair worked? I'm not hungry because I just ate three hours ago!"

"Even so, I don't see how that could affect you this much."

"Teppanyaki. Kyoko. Business card." Homura crossed her arms and almost pouted. Mami just stopped and blinked.

"Oh, well in that case, it's a wonder you didn't burst open." That drew some giggles from around the table, and took the edge off the mood slightly. Nova took the opportunity to slip in and sit down.

"I'm sorry," all eyes turned suddenly at the apology, but that was because it was Madoka making the offer, to Nova and to the rest of the group. "You see, my spell was supposed to dish out righteous punishment for the guilty. But when I used it, I wanted to see Yukari _hurt_ for the things she said. I hoped it would hurt so bad it killed her, and because of that it bounced back and hurt me too. If not for that, she wouldn't have been able t-to . . . "

"So what you're saying is, you're human afterall?" Kyoko butted in. "Lord have mercy, finally! Look, Pinkie, no offense, but you're _wayyy_ too nice for your own good. The lady who runs this place is some kinda saint, but the way you've been going, it's like you were planning on getting elected patron deity of niceness or something."

"I-I'm not, I promise!" replied Madoka. Sayaka just covered her face with the palm of her hand.

"Not to heap more unpleasantness upon today, but I have bad news, and then I have worse news." Nova looked up from her dinner to make sure she had the attention of the other Puella Magi as she spoke. "When I went, er, out of alignment earlier, I connected to the Locus. That's like Incubator Central Dispatch, for want of a better term. While I was connected, I pulled in some information. The bad news is, Ragnarok has Hitomi. The worse news is he has taken her back Home to stand trial for crimes against the Project, as part of his coup attempt against the Overseers."

"Okay, so what do we do then?" replied Sayaka.

"Do? What'd'ya think we do? We go there, rip out Ragnarok's heart, stick it on a trophy rack, and then get your girl back!" Cirno crossed her arms and nodded to herself as she made her pronouncement.

"Umm, Cirno, that's gonna be hard-"

"What, dont'cha have a trophy rack? Eye can sell ya one pretty cheap!" The ice fairy smirked at the disbelieving faces looking at her, then her face returned to sober seriousness. "No, really. I know it won't be _easy_, but it's the right thing to do, and that means it's what we're _gonna_ do, got it?"

"Well, okay, yeah, but how? I mean, do you still have the keys to the ship Nova?" asked Sayaka.

"Uhh, what ship?"

"The ship that brought you here originally!" Sayaka snapped back, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Alright, that's it, no more late-night anime for Sayaka!" replied Nova with a smirk. "No, we don't use spaceships, except for the Examiners, and even that's more like a flying apartment complex than a battleship. But I can still get back into my Box, which will have to do."

"Uhh . . . sure. If you say so."

* * *

Koishi caught up to Satori just outside the Temple proper, where she and the others from the Mansion who hadn't actually participated in the battle had been brought over for the victory feast. Unfortunately, Byakuren had sent Kogasa, and the karakasa had been so wound up from her part in the battle that she had blabbed everything that happened. Satori was _livid_, she was so angry that Koishi didn't even need her Third Eye to feel her sister's wrath.

"Yes I did, yes I am, yes I do, no you can't." said Koishi, with a grin on her face. That caused Satori to stop in her tracks, and for a moment confusion replaced anger on her face.

"W-what?"

"Oh c'mon sis, it hasn't been that long since I closed my Eye! Have you forgotten already what it's like to be caught in the gaze of the cursed beast? Wait, wait, I know you have, and I don't even need to read your mind. You've gotten so used to reading everything from everybody, and them hating you for it, you've stopped trying to keep up with the social graces! Well, I at least remember how to act properly. Go on, say it!" Koishi folded her arms as anger darkened her face as well, daring her sister to speak her mind and say _I liked you better when you were still damaged and couldn't see!_

Instead what happened was Satori flung her arms around Koishi and pulled her into a tight embrace. "Welcome back, sister." Satori said in a thick voice, as she could no longer hold back tears.

"Umm . . . does this mean you're not going to kill me after all?"

"Of course not! I was only angry when it seemed like you were going to disappear completely. But now I know she isn't going to steal you away from me. I would have wished that you had chosen differently-" Satori was interrupted by giggles from Koishi, and frowned.

"Pun intended, sister?"

"Huh . . . ? Oh!" Then Satori began to laugh as well.

"You do know, I will have to fight by her side still. Our real battles are not yet over."

"I have been following the situation, you know. Those Outsiders, the Purifiers, they have struck at me and mine. I have only one request; leave enough pieces that Orin can retrieve some of their souls. I wish for them to roast, and slowly, for what they have done."

"Absolutely."

* * *

"Well this isn't where I would've expected to find the woman of the hour, ze!" Marisa clapped a chummy hand on Reimu's shoulder, as the latter leaned against the archway overloooking the Temple gardens and watched the moon rise. Inside, the victory celebration was still roaring along, with considerable assistance from Suika's gourd, which was propped up beneath a decorative fountain. Water went in, sake came out, and no one needed an explanation for what to do with that. "If I had to go on looks, I'd think you had lost the battle today, not won it!"

"And what exactly did we win, huh? Where is the joy in fighting a battle that shouldn't have taken place to begin with, in order to clear the way for an even worse battle to begin? And yet again, the Outsiders cheated death by half a broom straw! Using powers they themselves don't even really understand, and blind freaking luck!"

"Oi! Cheer up, ze! You brought Yukari Holier-than-Thou Yakumo to heel, and that happened because you brought together the most awesome collection of power Gensokyo has ever seen! A month ago, I wouldn't have expected to see a group like that in the same place for anything besides an all-you-can-eat beatdown and lunch buffet!" That drew something between a cough and a laugh from Reimu. "Plus, you got 'em to sign their names to paper that states they'll actually sit up and listen when you tell them to stop misbehaving!"

"Yeah, and how long did that last? I mean, do you realize, it hasn't even been one whole day since the Compact was signed, and oaths have already been broken?"

"Say what? When?!"

"Provision 4: Contracting with Incubators is expressly forbidden to all residents of Gensokyo."

"Oh, c'mon! If Koishi hadn't stuck her nose in it, we'd be holding this party at Komachi's place!" Marisa fumed for a moment before continuing, "There's gotta be exceptions!"

"And when do they end?" Bitterness and sorrow both clogged Reimu's voice. "Ok, fine, this time was special. What about the next time something special and unusual happens, and I let something slide? Pretty soon, we're right back where we started or worse."

"And how many people is a rule worth? Who would've been _acceptable_ to let die to drop the fluffball, huh?" Ofuda zinged past Marisa's ear, razor-sharp and charged with magic.

"Godsdamnit, I don't know! You think I would be out here letting all that eat me up if I knew? You think I could even stand being me if I started putting values on peoples' heads, like fucking knicknacks in Korindou? Huh?!" Marisa just stood and glared at Reimu, who was flushed with anger. Inside, the shrine maiden noted with annoyance that Marisa had her thumbs tucked into her belt in such a way as to put her Hakkero and Spellcards in hand with just a twitch.

"Welcome to my world." said Yukari, stepping out of nowhere to join the conversation. The reactions of both Reimu and Marisa could best be summed up as "Gah?!".

"Now that you've had a taste for rulership, how do you find it?" Yukari asked, her tone deceptively light.

"Honestly? I hate it. I wish there was someone, anyone, to put in charge instead. But I'm the one who pushed for this thing, and that means I'm the one who will hang for it if everything goes sour." Reimu grumbled.

"Good. The last thing you want in a leader is someone who enjoys telling people what to do." replied Yukari, drawing a snort of disbelief from Marisa. "For the record, Marisa, I don't enjoy telling people what to do, I enjoy teaching people lessons which they need to learn. It simply happens that many people need lessons on humility and authority, and they need those lessons repeated several times before they stick."

"So what _do_ you want?" Reimu asked back. "I assume you didn't come out here just to argue with Marisa." _Her response to that should be worth a laugh, at least!_ Reimu thought as she studied Yukari.

"I would like to sign the Compact." was Yukari's reply, not at all what Reimu was expecting.

"Honestly and truly? No strings attached, no favors or special titles?"

"Yes, honestly and truly. For one thing, I need a vacation." Yukari looked rather withdrawn at that. "That Spellcard that was used on me damaged me in ways that will not be easy to mend, and until I am able to come to terms with myself once more, I will be unable to acquit myself well." Reimu gawked at that, shocked by the admission.

"I knew that girl looked dangerous when I first saw her, but if I may ask, what did she do that could cause _that_ much damage?"

"Curiosity, Reimu, or are you looking for something to try for next time?" replied Yukari, the smug ghost of a smile upon her face.

"I, er, well hopefully there won't be a next time." replied the shrine maiden, her face coloring.

"Indeed. Although, I dare say, had you truly been trying to kill me, you would have succeeded." That drew a shocked look from Reimu, which mirrored the look Marisa was aiming at her.

"We weren't trying to kill her? Coulda fooled me, ze!"

"If she had only wanted me dead, then her opening shots would not have been Spellcards. I am no more immortal than you are, Marisa, just better at cheating the reaper. In any case, I suppose I shall give you an answer Reimu, given that I owe you a ransom anyway. What that girl did, the pain which Madoka Kaname's Spellcard inflicts, was to remind me of who I really am."

"What? That's it, ze? How's that supposed to hurt?" Marisa asked, incredulousness written all over her face.

"Do you like being called the Starlight Berzerker? Do you revel in that title, and the destruction for which it stands?"

"Hell no! I hate it!"

"And what if you were to change your mind? What if you did something so foul, so profoundly wrong, that you would have to bury Marisa Kirisame in the ashes of the past and let her name never be spoken again in order to go on living?" Yukari stood there with her half a smile in place as her audience tried to decipher her message for a minute. "That was very clever, by the way, using the Seeds of Non-Identification to hide Ran. I'll be going now. Do enjoy your evening." A gap formed before either Reimu or Marisa could say anything, and then the Border Youkai was gone.

"Why do I feel like I just got swindled?" Reimu asked, bitterly.

"Spellcards, huh? Were you really not trying to kill her?"

"No, and yes. I still hoped even when the fight started she could be made to see reason. And besides, a Spellcard will eat up a ward just as well as a killshot."

"If it had come to it, would you have actually thrown the finishing blow, ze? Much as I don't like her, I dunno if I could have." Marisa shivered, from more than just the chill of evening.

"May the gods damn me as a coward, but yes. I had briefed Sariel and Mima both; either one of them would have stepped in to do the deed if it came to it." Marisa giggled suddenly, drawing a glare. "What in hell is so funny, if I may ask?!"

"Nothing much, ze. I was just thinking what would have happened if you'd gone all yandere when you found out about me and Alice." Reimu looked at Marisa as though maybe she should be bundled off to the padded room where they stashed people who accidentally looked Reisen in the eye until they became unbent. _No, that wouldn't do, by Eirin's standards, she'd never be let out!_

* * *

"You performed well today." Miko stopped in her tracks and looked at Shou, as if looking for proof that the tiger youkai was really who she appeared to be, and that she had actually spoken the words Miko had heard. Then the Taoist looked over her shoulder to see who Shou was actually addressing, but there was no one else in the hallway."I would of course have preferred to be at Milady's side in the battle, but I understand the reasons behind her commands."

"D-does that mean you're going to stop sharpening your bloody spear all night?"

"That depends . . . on your intentions." Miko looked at Shou in confusion; she could hear what the tiger youkai wanted, but her powers didn't help make the desires of others make sense.

"I'm not giving up my Way, if that's what you're after," grumbled the reanimated princess in reply.

"Good. It is better to have an honest argument than dishonest agreement."

"If you say so," replied Miko.

"Milady has done many great things here, and she deserves a turn of good fortune. As long as you continue to be that good fortune, I shall not hinder you any longer." Shou gave a formal if short bow to Miko, then turned and marched away.

". . . bloody-minded furball."

* * *

Elsewhere in the halls of Myouren Temple, things were going less smoothly. Nova and Koishi ran into one another in a most literal fashion as both headed for the sleeping quarters Byakuren provided. "You'd think between the two of us, we could have avoided that," muttered Nova, as she picked herself up off the floor. Koishi offered a hand to help the ex-Incubator to her feet, but then she blurted out, "I'm terribly sorry Nova, but I can't share a room with you." That drew a frown from the white-haired girl, but Koishi pressed a finger to Nova's lips to preemptively silence her.

"I want to get to know you, completely," said Koishi, and there was a weight on "completely" which put Nova's heart on a rollercoaster run once more. "But I just can't yet." Koishi frowned at her Third Eye. "It's been a long time since I last had my Eye open, and in the meantime, I've somewhat forgotten how to use it. It's our curse, you see, because unless you blind it the Third Eye sees the thoughts of everyone around you, all the time. _All_ the time."

"Okay, that sounds a bit rough."

"That's putting it mildly," Koishi replied with a giggle. "I need a little while to get readjusted to how it works, especially since you are also a sensitive. I'm worried that until I learn how to stop seeing what I look at again, we could end up hearing somebody's nightmare and pass it back and forth, and get caught in a feedback loop. It happened once when Satori and I were younger, and let me tell you, it was the most awful thing I've ever experienced."

"Even worse than getting, er, your guts punched out?"

"_Wayyy_ worse. Of course, there are other instances we could use to trigger a feedback loop, and those could be a lot more fun." Koishi licked her lips as she spoke, and Nova suddenly felt that dizzy-giddy feeling return. "Good night, sweet dreams," said Koishi as she sauntered off, leaving the ex-Incubator to lean against the wall, trying to collect her thoughts.

"Are we having fun yet?" Nova looked up at the intrusive voice to see Miko smirking at her. "Romancing a satori, huh? Here I thought I was doing things the hard way!" Miko gave the white-haired girl a comradely clap on the back, but Nova just looked up at the Taoist in utter confusion.

"Er, no, she's Koishi. Satori's her sister." Miko chuckled at that, which only deepened Nova's frown.

"Listen kid, 'Satori Komeiji' is more like a job title than a proper name. Goofy, I know, but that's what you get for being a legendary creature out of myth."

"Okayyy . . . Anyway, is there something I can do for you?" Miko just chuckled, and Nova swallowed hard. It felt a little bit like being caught between Kyoko and a buffet line.

"Well first, you can learn to say 'bugger off' if that's what you mean to say. But no, I want to know what I can do for you." Miko lifted her earmuffs slightly. "These aren't just a crackin' good fashion accessory- they help me filter out all your noisome desires that you lot are constantly shouting out."

"Congratulations?" replied Nova. Miko just sighed.

"Do you have to sign away your brain to get one of those contracts? You have a girlfriend who won't sleep with you because her power lets her sense too much. I made a device that filters out sensory powers. Do you want me to teach you how to make one for her or not?!"

"Oh. Oh! Yes, yes, a thousand times yes!" Nova nearly dropped to her knees to beg for help from the semi-tamed Taoist. "But . . . what do you want from me in return?"

"What indeed. Can you tell the red oni and blue oni to tone it down a bit? They're damn handy in a scrap, but let them alone in a room too long and the things I start hearing . . . makes me want to take a shower, with a steel-wool loofa." Nova chuckled at the complaint.

"Try being empathicly linked with them 24/7."

"And it took you until today to snap? You're better than I first thought."

"Uh thanks, I think." replied Nova.

* * *

"Homura-chan . . . " Homura looked up to see a faraway expression upon Madoka's face. "I'm sorry, for what happened today. A-and starting tomorrow, I promise I'll get better. I can practice with Sakuya and the others and get stronger, so stuff like that doesn't happen-" Time ground to a halt as Homura drew upon her power without even manifesting her full kit. She vaulted across the futon which lay in the middle of the small guest room and let time return to its' normal course just in time to place a warning finger upon Madoka's lips.

"_Don't_ say such a thing! You stay just how you are."

"But, Homura-"

"But me no buts! So you made a mistake today. Yes I could have lost you, and I can't guarantee that we will always be able to cheat death as we have so far. But I will not have you walking down the same path I took." Homura paused to wipe her eyes before continuing. "If you do that, you will be just as lost as if you had been killed!"

"I'm sorry."

"Please, don't be sorry, just be yourself. If I learned anything from this horrible day, that is it. I overturned the hourglass again, thinking that I had to get you back. Instead, I found that I needed _you,_ all of you in this world we've made together, rather than any other set of bodies wearing the same faces." Homura let out a bitter laugh. "Back when this cycle first went out of control, Kyoko said some horrible things to me, about how I treated everyone. And as ashamed as I am to admit it, I've proven her right. I had hoped I was better than that. If anything, I should be apologizing. I've caused nothing but misery this entire time-" Now it was Homura's turn to be silenced by a finger placed to her lips.

"83 years. That's how long 1000 months is, Homura-chan. The habits that kept you safe all that time won't just go away in a few months, and I'll smack anyone who says they should!"

"Thank you," replied Homura with a smile. "As ever, you come to my rescue when I need it most. Now however, I would like to get some sleep. Today has been one _hell_ of a long day!"

* * *

The morning light found Mami already awake and busy in the Temple's expansive kitchen, alongside Youmu. Both girls had entered the facility at the same time, drawn by similar impulses; the both of them were early risers and each had a monstrously big eater to provide for. After a momentary staring contest, the two of them mentally divided up the kitchen and each got to work on half of breakfast.

_Now there would be a useful skill,_ thought Mami as she watched Youmu at work. The blonde gunner was admiring her counterpart's facility with a blade as Youmu ever-so-casually flipped an umeboshi into the air and then _Hakurouken_ left its' sheath in a blur, and only perfect thin slices of pickle made it down to the serving platter. _If I were Kyoko, I would probably try something stupid and showy to one-up her, like try to cook the rice with a _Tiro Finale_, and wouldn't that be a mess!_ Mami stirred the soup she was cooking and then took a sip of tea, simply enjoying the peaceful harmony of a well-run kitchen. Predictably, fate chose that moment to fling a wrench into the works.

"Reeeiiiimmmmmuuuuuu! Help! Quickly!" The scream rocked the guest quarters, and the Puella Magi were doubly inundated, for it was Cirno who was shouting to wake the dead and in her panic she was broadcasting through the empathic link as loudly as her voice. Cirno braked hard in the air in front of Reimu's door just in time for the door to bang open and a hand to seize the ice fairy by the throat.

"Reimu, if you bring that pest through the door at this unmerciful hour, I shall incinerate you both," came the voice of Remilia, thick with sleep. The spear Gungir waved uncertainly from beneath a mound of blankets to emphasize the Scarlet Devil's point. Reimu spared not a glance for the threat, instead reserving the full strength of her glare for Cirno, who went paler and colder than usual under the shrine maiden's withering gaze.

"I-it's Charlotte! She's bleeding out the, er, from the inside! What do I do? You gotta help, it sounds like she's dying!" Reimu's glare turned to something along the lines of disbelief, and for a moment her hand twitched upon the ice fairy's throat in time with the nervous tic in her eyelid. Then Reimu dumped Cirno on the floor and set off down the hall, pulling her robe tight as she did so. By now, the whole of the guest wing, if not the whole of Myourin Temple was aware of a problem, if not exactly what, and heads were popping out of doors. One white-haired head in particular caught the shrine maiden's attention.

"You!" Reimu thrust an accusing finger at Nova. "I would have thought your contract would have disposed of problems like this!" When she got a blank stare in response, Reimu clenched her jaw to keep from grinding her teeth to dust and counted to 20, then outlined the problem in quick, uncompromising terms.

"Oh. No, by default we don't alter any of the contractee's biological functions. It's possible a Puella Magi to alter the, er, factory settings, but they have to do that themselves."

"Well that's useless. I get better benefits than that just for being linked with the Yin-Yang Orb."

"Yes, well, our philosophy was not to alter things more than what's absolutely necessary. Sudden changes do not work well with the, shall we say, emotionally vibrant people who make good Puella Magi candidates. Sayaka went into a killing rage and then suicidal depression just learning that I'd moved her soul into a more secure location, I can't imagine what would've happened if we'd started outright editing their bodies."

"I suppose you have a point." Reimu rapped gently on the door, which stood only half-closed from Cirno's mad dash. "Hello, Charlotte? Are you in there?"

"Is she dead yet?" came a growl from a corner of the room.

"Not yet, no."

"Good. Make sure she stays that way for a while. I call 'dibs' on beheading her. Arrgh!" Reimu was unsure if the peach-haired girl was crying out in rage or from the same pain that just made her double over. Nova leaned against the wall in the hallway, looking at the now-closed door as if it could tell her whether or not she was actually dismissed. The door was not thick enough, however, to contain the noise as Charlotte howled "This is gonna happen _every month_?!" followed by profanities that would make even Kyoko blush, at which point Nova slunk away. If any deities happened to take offense, the ex-Incubator wanted to be nowhere near the point of impact.

* * *

If the morning had started off poorly, it got worse when excited mutters led Reimu to the main hall. "Just what is all this?" asked the shrine maiden, but only as a conversational gambit- there were only so many things that could be happening with a bunch of baskets tied up with cloths sitting at the feet of Yukari Yakumo, none of which were good in Reimu's opinion.

"Why, we're packing for a picnic! I thought we could all have a nice excursion Outside, and bond with our new friends over tea and cakes. I hope you didn't outlaw that lovely tradition anywhere in the Compact, or I might regret signing on." The cheerful expression on the face of the Border Youkai was enough to make Reimu want to punch her.

"(Hey, at least she gave you one evening before butting in and taking over. That's gotta be some kinda record, ze!)" whispered Marisa, who approached Reimu dressed in a poofy blouse, vest, and trousers that looked like they could pass for Outside wear, in her trademark black-white scheme. Looking around, it appeared the picnic plan was popular, judging by the amount of food which had been packed. _Even if she invites Yuyuko, that's enough for quite a gathering. _

"Okay, but _why_?"

"Reimu Hakurei, has no one taught you not to ask useless questions?" The reply came not from Yukari, but from Koishi Komeiji, who sauntered up to the gathering as if dancing to a song only she could hear and humming along. "You know that one will never give you a straight answer, not if her throat was actually _in_ the noose. But of course there are ways of actually finding out . . ." Koishi gave Yukari a smile which quickly turned predatory. "Ahh, you think you can block me, how cute. Sis has spoiled you, I see. Oh my! I didn't think even a kitsune could perform such an act without dying of shame, or possibly internal bleeding!"

"What? How _dare _you!" Yukari flushed scarlet and aimed a glare that had tamed gods upon the errant satori, but it failed to dislodge the smirk on Koishi's face.

"I win again! Really Yukari, you can't even maintain your composure in the face of a little teasing? Or your barriers either? Pathetic. And as for your plans . . . oh dear. Well, that would explain some things. Do not worry, I won't tell them _why_ you thought the way you did, but only because I didn't delve that deep. I am soiled enough with just what little I saw of your mind.

"No, I won't apologize, and no you won't get anything on me by whining to Reimu or trying to twist Satori-oneesama's arm with that silly scrap of paper you signed. Someone has to keep you in check, you sick, vile thing. I don't know how you knew this Incident was going to happen before the instigator herself knew, or was even Human, nor do I understand this burning need to have the Puella Magi under your dominion, but I don't really care. Yes, I did confront you in public precisely so others could hear, so you need not try to deny with your liar's tongue what your unguarded anger shows to be true. And you _will not_ cause any of them harm by action or inaction, and the same goes for my sister and her pets, do you understand?"

"Are you _threatening_ me?" asked Yukari, with as much amazement as anger.

"No, I am ordering you. There's a difference. If you try and harm any of them, I will rip out your entrails and hang you with them, right in the main square of the Human Village so all can see you thrash out your end, that would be a threat. Now did anyone remember to pack the pickles and peanut butter?" Koishi turned and began rummaging through the picnic supplies, as though a confrontation with the woman who could still make a claim to being the most powerful being in Gensokyo was of no more importance than tending to some peculiar eating habits. Sighing in frustration, Koishi wandered off in the direction of the kitchens, grumbling about the situation as if no one else was present.

"D-did that just happen? Am I really here, or did Remi knock me over the head when I went to answer the door?" Reimu stared in the direction the carefree girl had gone with shock upon her face, a popular choice of expression for everyone in the room.

"What am I supposed to have done now?" asked Remilia, who had only arrived in time to catch Reimu's outburst.

* * *

A hasty knock on his door gave Captain Daichi Miki barely a chance to look up before the door opened to admit the desk officer for the current shift into his office. The young man was unsettled, scared even, which did not bode well in the mind of the White Knight.

"T-there's, er, someone to see you at the front. I think you might need-"

"It's okay, Tarada-kun. I will handle the situation. Go get a coffee."

"Yes, sir!" replied the young officer, buoyed by his Captain's confidence. _Now, if only someone could provide the same for me,_ thought Daichi as he contemplated what might have spooked his man. _No, that's unworthy. I should not wear these stripes upon my uniform if I am not willing to wear the responsibility likewise._ Even so, what awaited the Captain in the meeting room off the front desk was enough to make him weak at the knees.

"Greetings, Captain," said the figure, who appeared to be carved from living shadow. The figure was quite familiar to Daichi, if not welcome.

"I wish to arrange a . . . plea bargain, you might say." said the Overseer. _Can I trust it?_ thought Captain Miki as he looked over the Overseer's ebon visage for any hint as to its' intentions. _Do I have a choice?_

"Very well. Tell me what you have to offer."


	15. Demarcation

**Chapter 15 : Demarcation**

"Alright, listen up you lot! We're going Outside today, and that means the following: No flying, no fighting, no danmaku at all, even if the other girl did start it, no messing with the mundanes _at all_, got it? You want to buy something, it takes Outsider paper money, which you will ask for from myself or Reimu. No gold, no shiny pebbles, no jiggered up leaves, and no stealing money from somebody else! You may only eat food that you buy on the Outside or that comes from our baskets and that was actually packed there by the kitchen staff in the first place! Any questions?"

"Yeah I have one," replied Wriggle as she glared at Cirno. "Are you gonna pull the stick out of your ass, or are you going to act this way all day?"

"Well I suppose that depends," replied the ice fairy, returning the glare with interest. Cirno swept her gaze across the rest of her gang, locking on to each in turn to get their attention; Mystia, Kyouko Kasodani, and Rumia, who still looked disappointed about the restriction on meals. Daiyousei and Chen she skipped over, as those two had proven themselves to be able to stay out of trouble, or at least in Chen's case, Yukari would do for her twenty times whatever punishment Cirno might be willing to dish out. "Do you plan on making a mess of today? Cause if you do, after I stuck my neck out to get Reimu and Yukari to let you go, you're gonna make me look like an idiot. And if Eye get to look like an idiot, you're gonna look like an icicle until Christmas, got it?"

"I'd like to see you try!" Wriggle scoffed. "You've been spending too much time with those stupid Outside girls, and you 'n me were matched even before then. Now that you've got that peach tart doing all your work for you-" a tap on the shoulder interrupted the firefly youkai's rant. Annoyed, Wriggle turned around, right into a solid fist.

"So I'm stupid, huh?" asked Charlotte in a tone of voice that could carve stone.

"Y-yeah! I said it, yeah, you're stupid, and ugly, and annoying! What'cha gonna do about it?" The firefly crossed her arms with a triumphant look on her face. Sure that red Outsider had been scary, and she had even given Mystia a bad thrashing, but this girl wasn't that girl, and the other one had been sick at the time anyway.

"I challenge you to a duel. First one to eat dirt and not stand back up loses." Charlotte fanned a pair of Spellcards in her hand for emphasis.

"You're on! And when you lose, you go away and stay away from Cirno. We don't need you bothering us, got it?" Cirno herself looked rather annoyed at being spoken for, but then she settled into a nonchalant smirk.

"And when _you_ lose, well, I've been meaning to get a reading lamp. I assume you're still fully intact?" The question made Wriggle go bright red with some combination of embarrassment and anger.

"(Cirno-chan! Shouldn't you stop them? What if somebody gets hurt!)" Daiyousei was tugging on Cirno's sleeve as she whispered urgently in the ice fairy's ear.

"(Nah, don't worry. Wriggle can always rez later.)" At that, the lake fairy recoiled in shock. _Hey, Char, try not to break her too much that she can't go on the picnic! It would look bad, ya know?_ Charlotte shot a nasty grin at Cirno, but she did give an affirming nod as well.

"Well, what'cha waiting for? Get your fancy getup on, I wouldn't want anybody to say I didn't beat you fair and-" Wriggle was suddenly interrupted by a knee impacting her gut. Charlotte had burst forward from her casual slouch much faster than the firefly had imagined possible, and before Wriggle could gather her wits, she received a palm-heel strike to the chin that clipped her teeth together and put her on the ground.

Wriggle rolled to her feet and shot a blood-curdling glare at Charlotte, who had stood there waiting. "I'm gonna rip that smug grin right off your face, bitch!" the firefly shouted, and came out shooting. Charlotte threw an orange spark into the sky and danced out of the rain of danmaku, and when she clapped her heels together at the end of the barrage, she was dressed in her Puella Magi costume and the spark fell from the sky, her Soul Gem obediently clasping to her wrist beneath her right sleeve. The sight was enough to make Wriggle scream in frustration, which she vented with the first Spellcard of the battle. "Dance out of this! _Firefly Sign ~ Comet on Earth!_" Again Charlotte dodged and weaved with exceptional skill, but even still Wriggle heard the telltale sounds of bullets impacting and she grinned. In truth, the firefly youkai didn't really care what the Spellcard did, because its' true purpose was to prepare her target for the next attack. As the Spellcard faded away, Wriggle launched herself forward in her infamous jump-kick attack.

"_Fateful Bond ~ Yin and Yang!_" Charlotte called out her own Spellcard. The unexpected translocation rattled Cirno's wits, and she was left with only enough time to ask "Wha?" before getting a faceful of firefly foot. "That was for waking everybody up this morning!" shouted the Puella Magi as she watched the ice fairy get plowed into the turf from the attack. Wriggle jumped back to her feet, but then she was immediately stuck into the danmaku dance herself as Charlotte unleashed a massive barrage of bolts which looked rather like sugar sprinkles.

"Hah! Is that the best you got?!" shouted Wriggle, although her clothes looked a bit like she had let some of her moth friends snack on it.

"Like hell! You ready to eat that dirt?" Charlotte called back. Wriggle just growled and pounced, hurling bullets from both hands, but this time the Puella Magi stood her ground, accepting a few dings to her costume as the enraged youkai closed in on her. At the last moment, Charlotte flicked her fingers and a card appeared. "_Lethal Dose ~ Bitter Peach Pit!_" came the Spellcard, and Wriggle was blown back by the sudden cloud of poisonous danmaku which filled the air with the reek of burning almonds. Coughing and spluttering, the firefly youkai was unable to defend herself as Charlotte kicked her feet out from beneath her, and then Wriggle found herself truly eating dirt.

"Ack! I give! I give! Stooopbthhhttt!" Wriggle literally spat out the last of her complaint along with a mouthful of grass and dirt when she was let up.

"So, looks like you have a new job from now on," said Charlotte in a nasty sing-song voice which made Wriggle's eyes nearly pop out of her head.

"No way! You weren't serious! You can't be-"

"Oh yes I am! Shouldn'a made a bet you couldn't keep. Now be glad I don't make you demonstrate right here!"

"Is everything under control over here?" came a voice which chilled Charlotte's blood in a way Cirno could never hope to match. Instantly, the peach-haired Puella Magi and the firefly youkai were on their feet and standing shoulder-to-shoulder as if nothing had happened. Yukari Yakumo favored the girls with a fractional smile that was more knowing than any smirking grin.

"Yes ma'am, perfectly so!" came the reply in unison.

"Good, good. Remember that today is for promoting harmonious relations between our communities." said the Border Youkai before turning to glide off.

"This is all your fault-" Wriggle was cut off in mid-snarl by a hard slap against the back of her head.

"Knock it off, _both_ of you! If she comes back to see what the commotion is, Eye'm gonna strangle both of ya, got it?" Cirno received a pair of sullen nods by way of reply. "Good enough, I guess. Now get going! I don't want them 'accidentally' closing the portal before we get through!" Cirno whipped up a rod of ice which might have been a marching baton, or possibly a truncheon and waved it in the general direction of the large gateway which had been conjured to expedite the transit. _Hey, are you okay?_ sounded in Cirno's head, throwing the ice fairy off her stride until she recalled how the empathic link worked.

_Yeah, I think so. I just worry about them, y'know? For some stupid reason, they trust me. I can't betray that confidence, and I won't, no matter what!_

_I more meant your face,_ Charlotte sent back. _Also, who put a bug up the bug's ass?_

_That's uh, well . . . hey, why _did_ you make me eat her kick anyway?_

_Like I said, it's payback for this morning!_ Charlotte gave Cirno a winning grin, at the same time cheerfully ignoring the absolute glare of death coming her way from Wriggle. Cirno gave no outward reply, but Charlotte could hear what she was thinking for a moment: _I need to get some of those evil-warding charms from Reimu!_

* * *

As a matter of fact, two of the would-be picnickers were already in Mitikahara, and none the happier for it. Sayaka drummed her fingers on the armrest in the police cruiser sent to bring her and Kyōko to the station to assist in interrogating the surrendered Overseer.

"So, why are we together?" Sayaka asked. It was something of an idle question, but Kyōko responded by making roughly the same noise as Sayaka herself had when Kyubey had demonstrated what a spear-thrust to the guts felt like. The redhead looked like she wanted to drop to the floor like Sayaka did then as well. "Uh, sorry. It's just, I can't completely shake those memories Homura brought back with her. How did we end up like this, and how much really separates us from, well those other us?"

"If you need to go, then go. I won't hold you back." the words were almost free of bitterness and regret, but not quite.

"Hey!" Sayaka jabbed Kyōko in the ribs, drawing a hissed curse in reply. "This is the part where you're supposed to fight to keep me, dummy!"

"I would, if I had any weapons to fight with," came the unhappy reply. "I have poor grades, no job prospects, and nothing I can offer you-" Kyōko was silenced by a hand on her chin, and then the rest of her words were taken away by a kiss.

"Yeah, nothing at all," replied Sayaka, her voice dark with sarcasm. "Except that, and oh yeah, the fact that you kept fighting for me when I stopped fighting for myself. You saved me. I wouldn't _be here_ to have this argument with you if you weren't worth something." A devious grin lit up the blunette's face, as she continued, "and I can think of at least one other reason to keep you around!"

"Yeah, about that," replied Kyōko, her eyes cast down guiltily. "I had a, er, run-in with Charlotte a couple of days ago." The only response from the other side of the car was a low, feral growl. "Hey! Not like that, um, well okay, a little like that, but this time it wasn't my fault!"

"Oh?" replied Sayaka, a single word which seemed to have a mountain of danger resting upon itself.

"She's sensitive. To the link, I mean. The other girls bitch about how we enjoy ourselves too much, but Peachie was waking up some mornings thinking she _was_ you, or me. She wanted to know what it was like, to feel it for herself, not second-hand. Mami-sempai walked in on us, so I've already had my tongue-lashing, er . . ." Kyōko trailed off, after she registered her accidental double-entendre.

"Well, then, I suppose next time we'll have to hold it in better. I don't want anybody else getting _any_ part of you, even if it is second-hand." Sayaka gave Kyōko a predator's smile as she made the pronouncement.

"Yeah, okay- wait. Next time? I thought you were tossing me out on my ear."

"No, silly! I'm angry and confused, and that's why I want you!" Kyōko favored the blunette with a look that sized her up for a straightjacket. "Bah! Listen to what I'm saying, not what's coming out of my mouth! If I didn't care for you, want you, need you, I wouldn't be bothered that you seem intent on swapping spit with every Soul Gem owner in all of Japan!"

"Not _every_body with a Soul Gem, certainly," was all that Kyōko could come up with for a reply. To Sayaka's arched eyebrow, she continued, "I'm _not_ touching Nova, not even if there's a lifetime pass to the teppanyaki house in the offering. Not with her imaginary playmate hanging around in the flesh. You saw how she talked down at Yukari-freakin'-Yakumo, like she was some dumbass hired help. I do not want to be on the receiving end of a _yandere_ episode from that one!"

"Point." Kyōko let out a small sigh of relief; prematurely, it turned out, as Sayaka added, "But I can't help noticing, Nova is the only one you said 'no' to."

"Aw, c'mon! It's not like I went out of my way to instigate anything, either time! Or are you just mad because you never got a chance to make a move on Pinkie?" Kyōko stuck out her tongue.

"W-h-a-a-t?! Why you damn delinquent! I'd- I'd- Gaaah!" Sayaka gave up on speaking any more in favor of trying to wrap her hands around Kyōko's throat and beat some sense into her redheaded partner. Kyōko yielded quite completely under the assault which turned Sayaka's battle roar into a squeak of surprise as they both tumbled completely out of the car.

"We have arrived, er, ladies." said the embarrassed constable who had just made the mistake of opening the door for his passengers. _This is all your fault, you disgraceful lout!_ Sayaka lit up the link with her ire.

_Don't give me that Blueberry, you know you love it!_ Kyōko sent back even as she stood up and dusted herself off, giving the officer a winning smile. "Take us to your leader!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Sanae Kochiya was pacing the grounds of Moriya Shrine and pretending to sweep. "Damn that red-white bitch anyway! It's not that I exactly wanted to go back to the Outside anytime soon, but being told I have to 'stay here and keep watch', oooh! Who does she think she is? She doesn't even _have_ a shrine anymore, and if the meeting where she tricked everyone into signing that stupid Compact is any indication, when her pals build her a new one it's going to be a whorehouse in fact, not merely in looks! I almost wish something would go wrong so I could show her how the job is properly done!" Sanae gave up on sweeping then, but only because she was afraid that she would snap the broom in two in her white-knuckled fury. The damage was already done, however, and the Fates gave Sanae a response to her wish in the form of a swift shape which came winging out of the sky to land in the courtyard. Trepidation slowed the Moriya shrine maiden's steps as she approached the newcomer. Aya Shameimayu was a harbinger of many things, but good news was not one of them.

"Yo, Sanae! You have a supplicant coming!" called out the crow tengu. A perplexed frown crept onto Sanae's face.

"Okay? No offense, but aren't you a little busy to be playing errand girl?"

"Normally sure, but birds of a feather, and all that. Besides, this looks like it might be interesting." The sinking feeling in the pit of the shrine maiden's stomach turned into a black hole when a second black-feathered figure dropped from the sky.

"Hey, no fair Aya! I can't keep up on wing-power alone, and Satori-sama forbade me from using my gamma-wave accelerators any more. Something about something or other falling out every time I did it . . . Hi Sanae!" Utsuho Reiuji, in the flesh. And corium. Sanae shot Aya an absolutely murderous look as the tabloid reporter hoisted her camera.

"Greetings, uh . . . So what do you, uh, come here to ask for?" stammered the green-haired girl as she sized up the hell raven.

"Well, I need some gear for a job, and I figured since you guys kinda owe me, you'd be willing to help scare the stuff up. Here's the specs." Utsuho pressed a packet of papers into Sanae's open hand. _I'm surprised it's not in crayon. She must've had help,_ thought Sanae as she began reading the document. "Oh, and I also need someone to teach me how to be a proper deity. It's like I am the Yatagarasu, but I'm not _being_ the Yatagarasu, y'know?" Strangely enough, Sanae understood the hell raven's plight. As a lineal descendant of Suwako Moriya, Sanae was technically speaking a divine being, but so long as Suwako herself was alive, Sanae would never become a true deity. While she never wanted to see Suwako perish, the unfulfilled potential did rankle at times. _Heh, it's like having a license, but never being able to get in a car and drive. And then there's those people who should never even be allowed to apply for a license,_ Sanae thought sourly as she looked at her "supplicant". Then the sour feeling redoubled as she actually took in the specs Utsuho had handed her.

"Uh, Utusho, I'm not sure if we can make this work. Inferno-forged steel doesn't exactly grow on trees, you know. Not to mention some of these other things-" Sanae was cut off by a snarl.

"Really? And here I was going to ask you plant me some! If this stuff was common I woulda just saved up my allowance and bought it myself!" Shock caused Sanae's jaw to drop.

"Wait, when did you get sarcastic and snappy?" asked the shrine maiden with some confusion.

"Um, you've met Rin, right? Snappy sarcasm was like mother's milk."

"Utsuho, you're a bird. You weren't raised on milk."

"I know. Hell raven, if you want to be extremely precise. However, 'Mother's regurgitated slurry of imp guts and baleflame' doesn't have the same ring to it."

"Point, I suppose. Still it's weird, I'm not used to you, y'know . . ."

"Being responsive? Well let's see, the first time you would have met me I was still digesting the corpse of a deity, and feeling a little under the weather. Then the next time I saw you was in the reactor chamber. It takes 89.183 percent of my available consciousness to maintain the reactor at full output, plus or minus 1.04 percent depending on solar activity, and then a bit more on top to keep from getting burned to a crisp-"

"Wait, what? I thought you were a hell raven, shouldn't you be immune to that stuff?"

"I have the ability to keep myself alive standing 4.06 meters beneath the corona of a fully enraged nuclear inferno, in much the same way as you could say that you won't die from a fall because you can fly. You still have to actually fly so you don't end up a pancake."

"Still, you're a lot more, er, aware than I'm used to."

"I've never been allowed away from the reactor long enough to re-compress the operating system and think for myself. Speaking of which, since you're already going to be talking to Nitori, get her to build me a computer that can automate some of this stuff. I kinda like being able to take a holiday, and I'm sure you don't want to be out of power for a week every time I need more than just a toilet break."

"Uh, yeah, sure . . ." replied Sanae, but the shrine maiden then realized she was talking at the broad white cape spread over Utsuho's wings as the hell raven clumped away, having been drawn into conversation with Aya on topics that Sanae was sure would make a lurid story in the Bunbunmaru tomorrow. Taken all together, there was only one way for Sanae to express the situation.

"Fuck!"

* * *

"That alone was worth the price of admission," said Charlotte with a grin as she watched the latest twist in the day's festivities play out. The girls had been wandering around Mitikahara's market district after lingering over lunch long enough that the presence of a gaggle of what appeared to be school-age children wouldn't draw too much trouble. During the course of their wanderings, Mystia had let out a cry of both shock and ecstasy and darted off like a pilgrim seeking sacred ground.

After apologizing to the drivers who had needed to make nosediving stops to keep from flattening the sparrow youkai and making their own way across the road, the rest of the Nineballs discovered what had set off their comrade: A music store. Mystia and Kyouko Kasodani had hit on the brilliant plan to combine their vocal talents and start a punk-rock band, but with only a vague idea of what "punk rock" actually was, and with only the leavings at Korindou to use for instruments, they hadn't gotten very far. Thus, to the aspiring rockers, the store was a place so packed with treasure to look like the fabled Shangri-la; rows of gleaming guitars, stacks of shiny drums, weapons-grade amplifiers, and more.

At this point, however, came the wrench in the works in the form of the shopkeeper, who looked even less pleased to see the girls even though he didn't know who they were than a Gensokyan shopkeep would be knowing he had Nineballs on the loose in his business. Charlotte couldn't entirely blame him; unchaperoned girls of the age she and her friends appeared to be were not known for being good customers, even if they were not as . . . _eclectic_ in appearance as Cirno's gang. And then there was the matter of funds. Reimu had believed herself being honestly generous with the Outside money they had acquired, but her opinions were colored by the decidedly backward and provincial economy of Gensokyo, not to mention the century's worth of inflation since the Border went up. Pooling all their money together would barely touch the prices of the new kit, and that was just the basic stuff; the store had some sort of promotion going on for a local group, and while they sounded good on the in-store speakers to Charlotte's ear, finding the "HTT Custom" signature in inlaid chrome on a piece meant an immediate 15% jump in price, or worse.

So Charlotte had decided to cheat. Well, perhaps "a creative and unorthodox solution" would be a better description, but it certainly bent the groundrules of the day enough to make Marisa proud; she called in Homura, or more precisely Charlotte had called for The Black Card.

At first, the clerk had remained all scowls and distrust. Homura had the advantage of at most two years in looks on the Nineballs, and if her cool, challenging expression dismayed the man, he didn't show it as her whipped out a phone to call in the card number. Thus, the girls were treated to the display of the man's annoyed expression falling first to dismay and then to worry and finally breaking out into sweat-beading fright. _Definitely worth the price of admission_, thought Charlotte as she watched the clerk literally start bowing and scraping before his "guests" and tried not to cackle. A dark harmonic growl filled the shop- Mystia had gotten her guitar connected to a test amp, and was having something like a religious experience as she worked the chords.

_Okay, I'm happy they got what they wanted, but what did the purple girl do to him? I thought he was gonna sweep us outta here with a broom and now he looks like he wants to lick our shoes clean! _Cirno sent her concerns over the empathic link partly out of decorum, but mostly because Mystia's continued toying with the guitar rendered a conversation at normal volume a lost cause.

_Well to sum it up, you know that whole bit about 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend'? We've picked up some pretty unusual friends so far in this battle, and I don't just mean you guys. What Homura did would be like one of you calling in Yuuka for backup._

_No. No, it most definitely was not like that._ Charlotte watched a shiver run all the way down Cirno's spine. _I don't see any severed limbs lying about and there aren't carnivorous flowers growing from anybody's eye sockets._ Another grimace crossed the ice fairy's face, but this for a different reason. "Hey, turn it down already!"

"It's only _on_ '2', O Fearless Leader!" replied Mystia.

"If that's a '2', then turning it to '4' is gonna make you Public Enemy #1, and '8' is gonna start a full-blown Incident, bird-brain!"

"Oh, well that's just too bad, 'cuz as soon as we get home and get a set put together, we're gonna turn it all the way. up. to. 11!" Cirno just palmed her face, although Charlotte caught a fleeting _we're doomed!_ in the ice fairy's thoughts. A hard hand on her shoulder shocked the peach-haired girl out of her thoughts.

"You think you're so cool, huh? You don't get to just buy your way in, got it?!" Wriggle practically blazed with anger.

"Oh, bug off! If I'm buying anything, it's for myself. I remember being on the short end of the stick, and I have the ability to help them out, so I did."

"Well aren't you noble?" Wriggle rolled her eyes.

"Uh, more importantly, how are we gonna get all this stuff home?" asked Rumia, ever the practical.

"Allow me." Homura flipped out her phone and made a quick call. Ten minutes later, the bug-eyed shopkeeper watched as two Yamaguchi-kai toughs marched in and loaded the Nineballs' gear onto a van. Mystia and Kyouko rode along with the gear- both were extremely protective of their new treasures, and even better, the inactive offices where they were going had nobody around to complain when they tried out their new gear.

"That was a little mean of you, Homura-chan." Madoka spoke with mild reproach in her voice. "You shouldn't terrorize people like that, even if they are being jerks who deserve it." Homura snickered at Madoka's assessment of the shopkeeper, before frowning up at the sullen sky.

"You're right of course, but he did deserve it. It doesn't excuse my behavior, but this weather has me on edge. It feels too much like the week leading up to Walpurgisnacht."

"Yeah, it does." Madoka snatched up Homura's hand. "But we beat that trial, and we'll beat anything else that comes along, too!"

"Indeed. However, we must be going, before the Red and Blue Oni make a hash of the interrogation."

"Now, that's not very nice either! Sayaka-chan and Kyōko-chan are your friends as well!"

"So they are. But that fact alone won't restrain either of them from rushing in with their hearts when they should be using their heads."

"Okay, point."

* * *

For Reimu, hearing that there was trouble back in Gensokyo was something like a relief. The sky had thoroughly dampened the mood of the picnickers, when it wasn't dampening them for true with sudden cold spits of rain. Yukari and Yuyuko were dead-set on having a proper outing, but they at least had the protection of one of the Border Youkai's famous gaps catching the rain. That left Reimu and Remilia along with Mami, Nova, Koishi and Satori to compete for what cover could be found, in the form of Tatara Kogasa and her umbrella. And while the karakasa was actually being competent at her job, surprisingly so in fact, there was only so much area she could cover at one time. "Heh, you are what you eat, or something," muttered Reimu as she picked up a cold, soggy croquette.

It didn't help any that Reimu had let her famously coarse tongue get the better of her. Upon seeing the Komeiji sisters don their new sunglasses, enchanted by Miko to keep their mind-reading powers under control, the first words out of the shrine maiden's mouth had been "You look like an apprentice pervert," to Koishi's blue-tinted aviators, and then she followed up "And you look like an apprentice moron," to Satori's red-framed half-rims. That had pretty well set the tone for the afternoon.

Remilia had not made things any better. Sakuya had remained behind, citing the need to keep Flandre company, lest the younger Scarlet pitch a full-scale cataclysm over not being permitted to go along. As soon as Remilia realized her maid had gotten the better end of the deal, she had descended into a rancid sulk and began ordering Reimu about as though she was a servant, which set the shrine maiden's teeth to grinding. Meanwhile, Youmu was stiff and awkward because she plainly didn't yet trust Yukari as far as she could have thrown the woman, Mami was likewise stiff and awkward because her ingrained desire for peace and harmony was shot to hell and gone by the situation, and Nova was also stiff and awkward, on account of being Nova.

_I would say a prayer of thanks, if I had a deity to pray to,_ thought Reimu as Mami closed down her phone and relayed the report from Alice of "significant and urgent trouble". Immediately, Reimu was on her feet and drawing a teleportation card, and Remilia was a heartbeat behind.

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather stay and enjoy this lovely outing?" Reimu asked, acidly.

"Not even if the other option was getting staked!" hissed Remilia.

"If my Lady can spare me, I would like to accompany them." Youmu seemed almost as surprised as everyone else that she had spoken, but she stood anyway. Koishi flipped up her sunglasses as though she was surprised by what she was seeing, but Yuyuko simply nodded her assent, a smile spreading upon the face of the Netherworld princess, which she hid in her teacup. A faint blush spread upon Youmu's face at all the attention as she caught Mami's hand in order to join the chain to be taken along by Reimu's Spellcard.

"I admit to being surprised," said Yukari. "I know she has not yet forgiven me for the recent unfortunate chain of events, but I did not believe she could not handle just an afternoon in my presence." In reply, Yuyuko chuckled, Koishi outright cackled, rolling back onto the damp grass, and Satori just looked sick. For once, Yukari Yakumo had missed a trick.

Back in Gensokyo, Reimu hit the ground running, so to speak. "Since it's you, Alice, I expect there actually _is_ trouble, but anything is better than that gods-damned picnic!" The tone was light and sarcastic, but Reimu ground to a halt when she saw that Alice actually looked worried of all things, and Marisa was positively _grim_. And then their reason for being in such a state revealed herself.

"I must say, I have been given a most intriguing offer," said Yuuka Kazami, and a half-smile quirked her face, which was enough to set Reimu's stomach to boiling. "By this charming little fellow," Yuuka added, as an Incubator scampered down her arm, which left Reimu feeling like her stomach had been dropped into a vat of freezing acid which itself had been dropped into Makai. Yuuka stroked the the creature affectionately.

* * *

_Tell me again why we agreed to this damn-fool scheme?_ Sayaka spat sourly into the link. She and Kyōko were riding in the back of a Mitikahara Constabulary transport van along with Homura and Madoka, who had arrived at the last second. All four girls were in full Puella Magi raiment, weapons out. The reason for this state of affairs was sitting on the opposite bench; the Overseer, who cited the need to be personally present in order to show them a prize of great worth.

_"I have a translocation portal, here, in this city."_ the Overseer had said. _"And I am willing to take you to it, and show you how to open the way. This crisis must be resolved with all due haste."_ Kyōko smirked as she picked up the blunette's words. _I don't know why he wants to work with us, but I know _why_, if you know what I mean. Ragnarok must be beating his ass like a drum!_

_And so we're supposed to do his dirty work?_ Sayaka shot back.

_Hell no! We go in, nab Mossy, and swindle the both of 'em on the way out!_ replied Kyōko.

_And just how do you plan to do that?_

_Dunno yet. But I'll think of something._

_Much as it pains me,_ added Homura, _but I agree with Kyōko._ Homura directed a mental glare in Kyōko's direction so as to keep the redhead from giving more of a reply than _Gee, thanks Homerun, glad to be appreciated!_ before she continued on. _At the very least we should go in assuming that any bargain made will not be kept. Expect nothing, and we won't be disappointed._

_Well aren't you a ray of sunshine?_ this came from Sayaka.

_I believe the applicable phrase is "bite me", is it not?_

_I'd be careful, Homura-chan. I think Sayaka-chan just might!_ Madoka's sending caused chuckles throughout the van, on the Puella Magi side at least.

"Using your curious link, I see? It would be very interesting indeed to study your group at length. You have been unusually . . . innovative for a crop of your kind. I wonder if Unit 952 had not become defective long before making _her_ contract." The Overseer spat out Nova's gender as though it were poisonous.

"The only thing wrong with _Nova_ is she doesn't rely on her friends as much as she should." replied Madoka in something akin to a growl.

"All the more reason this site should have been quarantined long ago. She certainly has taken in a full measure of you Humans' obstinate foolishness. I would not be surprised if she had come up with some scheme as foolish as trying to return to her Box." abashed looks broke out amongst the Puella Magi, and all of them hated to hear the smug tone enter the Overseer's voice. "I thought as much. Certainly she did not share with you the fact that an Incubator's Essence Coalescer relays a report of its' arrival to the Central Planning Node when it is activated, or that Unit 952's Coalescer lays over 100 of your kilometers away from the nearest translocation Nexus, and that she would have to fight through the Protectorate Guard as well as the Purifiers and Reductors tasked to expurgate her to activate it. No, returning to her Box would be tantamount to suicide, but then I am honestly surprised she has held out this long. The reclamation subroutines are programmed to activate as soon as a Unit becomes unable to fulfill its' purpose. Above that, what Unit 952 has done is a sin against the Project, and shame alone should have-" Abruptly the Overseer stopped speaking, but that was because the tip of Kyōko's spear rested just beneath the figure's chin, such that it would impale the shadow-substance if the Overseer attempted to speak further.

"A god has to be worthy of worship before he can complain about sins, and you aren't even a god. You can take your reclamation thingamajigs and cram 'em up your ass till they get stuck."

_Temper, temper,_ sent the Overseer, who managed to convey dark amusement even through his telepathy. _After all, I do not absolutely need to give you access to my translocation portal._ Kyōko jerked her spear back, if reluctantly.

"The only reason I don't tear you apart right here is because she should get first dibs, got it?" replied the tempestuous redhead. The remainder of the ride was uncomfortable but mercifully short. Outside, the afternoon sun was starting to fall low in the sky. The location of the portal turned out to be one of the too many abandoned warehouses sitting by the dockyards. Daichi shook his head ruefully as he surveyed the location.

"Well, let's get to it," said the White Knight, dropping his cell phone back into its' clip.

* * *

"You see, it appears there is a reckoning coming to this world." Yuuka gave Reimu and her allies a smile that seemed to hold nothing but malice. "And my friend here has pronounced a doom upon all those except a select few who are being offered their wondrous 'contracts'. It seems that those contractees are expected to help with the dooming, but afterward, well, it seems there is a good deal of power and prestige in the offering."

_That is correct,_ sent the Incubator. _Only once before has a prospected world turned against the workings of the Project, and until now our only method of counteracting such a development has been to empower the Ragnarok. Considering the unfortunate side effects of that course of actions, perhaps it is time to have alternate solutions at hand. Your people have proven to be exceptionally powerful, and exceptionally dangerous. Contesting that power is good for neither us nor you, whereas an alliance of sorts could be mutually beneficial._

"So you see what you are up against, Reimu. Against an offer such as that, what value can I place upon my word, or a simple piece of paper, do you know what I am saying?" Reimu looked Yuuka in the eye and nodded ever so slightly.

"How much time would I have to consider, before I had to give an answer?" Reimu closed the gasps of shock and betrayal out of her ears, focusing only on the small white creature in the hands of the flower youkai.

_Not long, I am afraid. I would need your answer by the time this planet's revolution removes the local star entirely from your line of sight._ Reimu nodded once, sharply, at the reply. Yuuka was suddenly in motion for a moment, and then Incubator fluff squirted through her fingers.

"Right, so the shit is about to rain down upon us, and I left my umbrella with Yukari. Typical. Get moving, Byakuren needs to know, and Sanae, and we need to put up a defense, and-" Reimu shook her head. "When this is over, I _reallly_ need a vacation!" Fighting down the crazed laugh that bubbled up in her throat, Reimu turned to Yuuka again. "Thank you for drawing out their intentions."

"These . . . _things_ asked me to turn my back on everything which I cherish in exchange for a nebulous offer of power. I would have fought them to my utmost simply for that insult, to say nothing of the fact I gave you my word of honor," replied the flower youkai, as she made a short bow. "Alas, I have nothing more to offer at the moment save for this token, but I hope it will give some comfort." Yuuka gently handed a small bloom to Reimu before launching herself into the air in the direction of Myourin Temple. As the shrine maiden rolled the flower between her fingers, it suddenly began to grow, the delicate stem hardening into a meter-long staff the consistency of bamboo while the blossom's petals expanded and opened up . . . into an umbrella. At that, Reimu simply threw her head back and laughed into the clouded sky.

* * *

The Overseer's warehouse was mostly dim and quiet when the Puella Magi entered, with the exception being a weird sort of un-light and accompanying harmonic hum coming off the object standing at one end of the room. The translocation portal, for the artifact could only be that, was a broad ring 2.5 meters in diameter in unornamented dull silver, sitting upon a mounting stand. Within that ring, a sort of captured tempest seethed, looking much like the overhead view of a hurricane, only illuminated in the eye-straining glow of a blacklight.

_Was anybody else expecting something more . . . impressive?_ Sayaka gave the portal ring a dismissive frown as she polled her fellow Puella Magi over the link. Expectations of grandeur must have been a Miki family trait, for at the same time, Daichi asked "Is that all of it? I was expecting, well, _more_."

"Every function in its' simplest form, every form its' assigned function. That is our way, barring a few notable exceptions." replied the Overseer. "You must understand, the situation we find ourselves in is disturbing. It is not merely an affront to the senses, a breach of the very fabric of our society. This situation is aberrant, beyond any reasoning. It would be as if your Newton fellow and his Laws were suddenly repealed, and you could not even trust the very ground upon which you walk to do as it should. And to think, the Ragnarok was incarnated to solve this crisis, not make it worse." The Overseer shook his head in disbelief, and then the arch-fiend stood up straight, suddenly all confidence and assurance. "The worst of it is, this upstart is trying to overthrow _my_ place in the Communion. This cannot happen. I do apologize, my dears, but it simply must be done this way." Even as the Overseer spoke, the portal rippled and tore open across the forms of Purifiers, three of them, leading several Warlocks, both survivors from the battle at the Shrine and several of the fallen fairy-types taken from Gensokyo. "You see, the Ragnarok may only remain empowered for the duration of the crisis, and so if I exterminate the lot of you, that wretched upstart will have the rug pulled out from beneath him, and my seat shall remain secure."

"Do you really think we're just gonna stand here and take this?" Sayaka clenched her fists and then they filled with sorcerous steel, but only for a moment. The Overseer drew a bead of utter darkness from within himself and crushed it, and it seemed like the lights had gone out in the world. Dismay filled Sayaka's voice as her weapons and Puella Magi regalia disappeared, along with the other girls' outfits as well. "Actually, I was rather hoping you would. I cannot revoke your contracts, even if they were made by a traitor, but I can take away your gifts. Doing so is rather expensive, mind you, but you'll not have your powers back while there is still heat in my form. What do you say to that, child?"

* * *

"Oh, this is bad!" Charlotte dove for the floor as an eye-searing beam of darkness swept through the space. A minute ago the warehouse had been filled with nothing more disagreeable that a sour note from Mystia's guitar being pumped out of the portable amps, and then suddenly the shadows began to writhe and spit forth monsters. A Purifier and two Warlocks, plus their fairy minions were making the room much too hot to handle. And that was before the shockwave hit Charlotte and Cirno both, causing both of them to fall to the ground with squeals of shock. One glance showed that both girls' Soul Gems had been affected, the magic gemstones now appearing to be nothing more than bits of dirty glass.

Another beam cracked through the warehouse and raised a sudden shriek when it landed. Cirno whipped a panicked look toward the source of the sound- Mystia was fine, physically, but the shot had utterly wrecked her new guitar, and that was as good as injury to the youkai singer herself. It was all Cirno could do to pull her friend down before Mystia leaped into a fight she couldn't win.

"Alright, that's enough! Time to make some trouble!" Wriggle burst to her feet with a plan and a target. The firefly assaulted not one of the Warlocks stalking through the dim space, but instead she hit Rumia with a shoulder tackle that dazed the other girl, long enough for Wriggle to rip the ensorcelled ribbon off the blonde's head. "Huh, I was sure that was gonna do _some_thing," Wriggle muttered in disbelief.

"You wanna see 'something', huh?" Rumia hauled back to beat the firefly silly, but her arm just kept twisting back, and her voice trailed off in a howl, rising in pitch as her body itself was rising as a dreadful crimson light limned her figure. Rumia's limbs kept twisting and distorting further and further, accompanied by sounds of destruction so awful even the enemy stopped to stare in horror.

_No, _that_ is the look of the saint being crucified_ thought Cirno as her gorge rose in her throat. One final convulsion took Rumia, bending her backwards from her characteristic pose until her spine snapped and her body bent nearly double. The latest twist tented a point against the front of the darkness youkai's dress as something was forced out from within her body. Only when one hand, pale and bloody but still functional wrapped around the object was it revealed as the hilt of a sword. Drawing out the dreadful weapon freed Rumia to drop to the ground in a disturbingly sinuous manner. Rumia drew in the shadows around her with a breath, instantly restoring her form to all it had been and much, much more. The Youkai of the Darkness surveyed her surroundings with murder in her eyes and selected her first victim.

"Wriggle? The next time you have a brilliant idea, _don't!_" shouted Cirno. The ice fairy was trying not to notice what was going on as the Youkai of the Darkness slipped up to the closest Warlock in a vertigo-inducing whipcord dash. The monstrous weapon of the Project, notoriously hard to kill by Gensokyan standards (seriously, who takes a Master Spark and keeps going? Cirno shuddered), simply fell apart and died just as quickly as Rumia whipped out her Dreadblade, snicker-snicker-snack. The pieces hadn't even hit the ground yet when she turned on one of the possessed fairies. Rumia didn't even bother with the sword, she just gathered herself over the doomed creature and suddenly her mouth opened impossibly wide, revealing razor-edged shark's teeth which glistened in the weak light for just a moment before the Youkai of the Darkness bit down. A shake of her head ripped free everything from the fairy's breastbone on up, which Rumia then swallowed with a single gulp. Her tongue, impossibly red, ran across her teeth in something approximating a smile. Somewhere, a splashing noise gave tell that one of the Gensokyan girls had lost her lunch from the upsetting scene. Cirno refused to give in to the same, but only because she worried that if she turned away for even an instant, the next thing she would see was that horrible maw looming over herself.

* * *

"Sanae, let me go!" Utsuho thrashed about in Nitori Kawashiro's laboratory. "Don't you dare deny me! Those fiends, they should all _burrrrn_!" Alice had sought out Sanae to deliver the news about the new offensive by the Overseer, which was unfortunate as the shrine maiden had been overseeing the work Utsuho had demanded. _Thank Kanako for small blessings,_ mused Sanae. The news had arrived while Nitori was in the middle of the fitting process, which was the only reason Utusho was still in the laboratory- properly prepared infernal steel would literally bond to the spirit of the creature whom it was being applied to, and as a creature of the Hells Utusho would be manipulate the armor at will. However, the bonding process took some time, not to mention considerable fortitude on the part of the wearer. So when Alice had arrived, Utsuho was hanging naked and half-plated in a support frame. The framework was Nitori's own design, and that was affixed to the lab floor with bolts the size of Sanae's arm, which gave off unhealthy creaks and groans as the hell raven tried to beat her wings and take off. Sanae gave a tired sigh and drew out an ofuda. Muttering a prayer, the Moriya shrine maiden slapped the seal across the bloodshot Yatagarasu eye glaring out from the middle of Utsuho's chest. Immediately the hell raven stopped fighting so hard, but every erg of energy seemed transferred into the glare she directed at Sanae.

"Utsuho, listen to me. If you leave now, you're going to wreck all _this_," Sanae gestured at the plates both on Utsuho's body and stacked on the floor, still waiting to be affixed. "And if you think it hurts now, unbinding the armor so it can be fixed will be ten times worse." That caused the hell raven to grimace and go a bit pale; part of the ritual involved driving rivets which had been heated in Hellfire into Utusho's flesh. "And furthermore, you heard what Kanako-sama said. If you let your temper take control now, it could destroy you." Reluctantly, Utsuho nodded agreement.

Now it was Sanae's turn to grimace, as she thought about the way the afternoon had gone. What the shrine maiden had expected would be the work of months was already half-finished; unlike Celestial works or Sanae's own priestly rituals, the rituals of the Infernal realm did not require patience or forethought. Indeed, Nitori had explained that such things actually weakened the hellish workings. "The powers of Hell don't want their followers thinking too much on what they do be performing. Mebbe they do be coming to their senses and not going through with it." Indeed, with Utusho on hand to provide the Hellfire to fuel the ritual, the lengthiest parts of the entire operation had been drawing enough coin from the bank on Youkai Mountain to get the materials.

Even worse had been the audience with Kanako, in regards to Utusho's quest for divinity. "I really can't make you into a goddess any more than you can make me into a hell raven," Kanako had said. "You have the spark. You know how to work magic. All you need to do is choose what domain you will preside over and then draw out the spark, just like you would draw out mana for a regular spell." Utusho had spluttered at the brief explanation, and in truth, Sanae had felt like spluttering as well. _That's it?_ thought the shrine maiden, while Utusho had squawked out the same question at much higher volume. "That's all there is to it, really. I suppose you were expecting some elaborate ceremony and ritual? Humans need ceremonies and rituals, prayers and oaths in order to make sense of the divine. Gods only need patience to deal with humans. There is one thing, however; you must be clear of heart and sound of mind when you draw upon the spark. If you let your desires take command of your self as you transform, you will be . . . _deformed_ by the process, and I will come and slay you. I say this not as a threat; a deity driven insane by the damage to her essence would be nothing less than an utter catastrophe for this world, as much more troublesome than your previous Incident as the Sun outshines a candle, and you would welcome death a thousand times more than anything you had ever desired." The thought was still enough to make Sanae shudder. _You were gonna tell _me_ all that at some point, right, Kanako?_

"It's just not fair though!" Sanae snapped back to the present as she registered the complaint. "Those guys are _evil_, and I want to go smoosh them!"

"Trust me, I know how you feel. But part of growing up, being a responsible adult, as well as a wielder of a Power is doing what is _right_, not simply what you want."

"Oh, well that sucks," Sanae winced, but mainly because Utsuho's reply was punctuated with a yelp as Nitori installed another rivet into the vambrace she was working on. _And when did I become a responsible adult, to dispense such pearls of wisdom?_ The thought was enough to make Sanae wince again.

A chirping noise filled the laboratory, and it took Sanae a minute to realize that it was her cell phone making the sound. _Huh. I knew there was a reason I kept this thing around._ Sanae whipped the phone open, wondering just who actually knew her number to call.

"_Sanae? Get out here, now!_" It was Suwako on the other end of the line, which was surprising, considering that Suwako didn't have a phone.

"Uh, Suwako-sama, what's happening? And when did you get a phone?!"

"_It's Alice's. Looks like the bad guys decided not to wait for Reimu's deadline. They're attacking, and we need everybody out to help!_" A crackling boom punctuated Suwako's command.

"What do you mean, 'they're attacking'? Where are they attacking?"

"_Everywhere!_" Another explosion filled the air, only this one didn't come through the phone lines. Suwako's "everywhere" appeared to include the Kappa Village.

"Damnit! Nitori!" Sanae caught the Kappa engineer's eye, to make sure she was listening. "Hammer faster! Utusuho, looks like you're going to get your wish sooner rather than later!" Without waiting for a reply, Sanae shot into the air, blasting out the laboratory door.

* * *

"So, here's a question, do the Incubators give warranties? 'cause my Soul Gem just shut off." Koishi gave Nova a bemused look while at the same time trying to twist her Third Eye around to peer at the Puella Magi seal on the iris.

"Why not ask them yourself," replied Yukari. The Border Youkai pointed towards a Purifier who had just stepped into existence from the shadows, leading a swarm of minions. "It appears they do house calls."

_I do so hope you keep the old hag around for more than her wit, Unit 952. As it is, I had hoped for enough of a challenge to at least get some exercise, but it seems this planet simply teems with disappointment. Ah well. _Nova bounced to her feet, snarling at the taunt until she noticed that Koishi was also up and defending her honor with equal vehemence. However, a hand waved both of them back. Yukari glided up to the Purifier standing tall in all its' nightmare regalia, her expression icy cold.

"Do you know what lies beyond the Border of Space and Time?" Yukari asked of her foe, but without waiting for a response, she knocked the Purifier back with a lightning-fast palm strike. "Go find out!" commanded the Border Youkai as a gap formed just in time for the Purifier to stumble through. Dismay froze the other forces of the Project, but only for a moment, and then the shadows writhed and two more Purifiers appeared.

"Oh goodie, you've made them angry," muttered Nova.

"Small enough repayment, for the affront they have given." replied Yukari. "Come forward, fools, and let me show you what kind of mistake you have made."

* * *

"What do I say?" Homura's voice was tight and cold. It was a tone the Puella Magi recognized, and it meant danger . . . for her target. In fact the black-haired Puella Magi raised her left hand and pointed with her index finger as if it were a gun, sweeping across the mass of enemies to settle upon one of the Purifiers. A hint of a smile crossed Homura's lips, and she dropped her thumb like a hammer. "Bang."

The chosen victim rocked back as a sleet of gunfire slammed into its' frame. Chunks were torn away one after the other as the bullets slammed home again and again and again. The rolling thunder ended after several seconds and spent magazines clattered to the ground at the same time as the ruined corpse. Yamaguchi and six of his best soldiers stepped out from where they had hidden after following Daichi's signal to the meeting place and reloaded their guns with smooth, sure motions. The Overseer only laughed.

"Such an amusing gesture from the rabble. But do you really think mere metal will stop the likes of me?"

"Of course not," replied Homura. "Which is why I was not intending to oppose you with mere metal."

BGM : Alstroemeria Records - Dominated Dancehall - "Nightfall"

"Try this instead; _Nightmare ~ Treadmill of Fate_!" Homura released the Spellcard and a storm of danmaku shot across the space to slam into a Purifier whom the Overseer sacrificed in order to make his own escape from the attack. When the Spellcard timed out, the Purifier was a smoking wreck, but still standing, a situation rectified by a pistol shot slamming into the fiend's Core. Daichi Miki grinned as the Purifier crumbled to dust- without access to sealing magic, physically destroying the seat of their essence was the only way to kill a Purifier, and that was a service the White Knight was happy to provide.

Sayaka meanwhile was winding up a snappy comeback of her own. "Well I _am_ willing to use mere metal!" the blunette stomped down on a length of rebar, launching it into the air where she caught it even as she spun into a strike. Blue fire laced down the bar just before it slammed into a Reductor in mid-leap, and the spiky creature simply exploded into dust. "Who needs to get fancy when you can just hit a home run!"

"Well, I'd advising not actually hitting Homerun with that. She might hurt you." Kyōko added as she stepped up with her own length of rebar, held out like a spear to fend off one of the corrupted fairies.

"Less jokes, more pokes," said Homura as she shot down another Reductor with a bolt of purple energy.

"Yes ma'am!" replied both Puella Magi in unison.

BGM : 1:01

The last corpse burned away and fell from Rumia's dreadblade, but the look she gave the other Nineballs said that the Youkai of Darkness was far from satisfied.

"You know, I have always wanted to make you eat your boast, oh 'Strongest'. Allow me to show you what true strength looks like!" Rumia struck with horrifying quicksilver speed- but her sword only raised a hideous squeal as it ground against Cirno's ice blade. Cirno then slipped the lock and sucker-punched the Youkai of Darkness when she stumbled from the sudden loss of resistance.

"I hope you've got this 'true strength' chick on speed dial, cuz Eye'm gonna tear you apart in about one minute!"

"We shall see about that," replied Rumia, wiping away a trickle of blood from her mouth. Any good humor the Youkai of Darkness possessed drained away in a flash, and only hatred remained. "_Midnight Sign ~ Soul Slayer!_" Cirno's eyes were as wide as saucers as she evaded the deadly slashes of darkness. A Spellcard only in name, the Soul Slayer was aptly named. Still, the ice fairy popped back up as soon as the tearing crescents of danmaku passed by and resumed her attack, striking with slashes of blade and bullets of her own. At first, none of the other girls present joined in the fray for fear of hitting Cirno, but soon they became entranced by the thrilling contest. The new and improved Rumia was extraordinary, and Charlotte thought she could admire the vicious skill on display if it wasn't directed at someone for whom she cared about. Every beat of the dreadblade flowed into the next, and it would only take one touch for the Darkness to eclipse the victim's life. Against that power, Cirno was just the ice fairy they all knew, armed with only her skills and her sword of ice. And she was winning.

Cirno dropped to her knees to duck an eviscerating blow and sliced open Rumia's arm on the way past, then the followup stroke struck the ice fairy's wings, only they were now swords themselves, and Cirno somersaulted away from the dreadblade, coming to her feet with a weapon in each hand, turning as she rose to parry and beat down Rumia's blade even as her wings split and re-froze in their six-pointed configuration. A snap kick numbed Rumia's shin before the Youkai of Darkness hauled up and knocked Cirno back, but the ice fairy moved with the momentum, turning her tumble into a wheel kick which sent the dreadblade toward the ceiling. Rumia kept hold of her weapon, but she couldn't bring it back down in time to keep Cirno from charging forward and tackling her low, butting Rumia in the stomach. The combatants slammed into a support beam and Cirno rebounded and spun, extending her wings to spear the Youkai of Darkness even as she dropped into a one-armed crouch to slide beneath the dreadblade. Still turning, Cirno popped back up while Rumia was still following through her swing and the ice fairy spun like a top to lay a kick into Rumia's head and then for good measure she landed a one-handed stroke on the dreadblade on the way back down, imparting a wobble to the arc of the weapon.

Unfortunately, Cirno's virtuoso assault wasn't enough, for Rumia let her dreadblade cleave clean through the steel beam in order to turn about and strike while the ice fairy was still gathering herself for another attack. "_Chaos Sign ~ Stormbringer!_" rang out, and suddenly Rumia's weapon was striking from eight directions as once. _Aww hellsickles! It was a good try!_ thought Cirno in the moment before the blades struck. However, there was one card still to be played.

_Fateful Bond ~ Yin and Yang_

Cirno gasped as she felt the Spellcard trigger, but she was helpless to do anything but watch as she and Charlotte were transposed. The dreadblade speared through the peach-haired girl, but Charlotte just grinned and clenched her hands around the weapon. "Get her!" cried the Puella Magi as darkness flooded her Soul Gem at a terrible rate.

* * *

"More trouble!" Koishi called out. The younger Komeiji had a Reductor in each hand after catching the beasts trying spring on her. A hard squeeze shot fluff everywhere and then Koishi let the broken things drop. The picnic had turned into a brutal melee as the Purifiers called in a seemingly endless quantity of monstrosities, but that wasn't what worried Koishi. "Go to her!" Koishi called out, loosing a salvo of danmaku to cut down the Reductors nipping at Nova's legs to make sure she understood. The explosions were enough to shock the ex-Incubator out of her trance. Nova just gave a wry bit of a laugh. Somehow, she wasn't surprised that Koishi had heard an echo of the scream Charlotte had loosed in her mind. What Nova had heard was not a product of the empathic link the Puella Magi had created, but a remainder of the bond between Incubator and contractee. Shadows swallowed Nova entirely, and she disappeared from the lawn. And the battle raged on, unabated.

A curious war of maneuver had broken out between the Nineballs and Rumia, with Cirno trying to get an angle to strike at the Youkai of Darkness, Rumia attempting to keep her from doing so, and Charlotte attempting to keep Rumia from keeping her in Cirno's way, and all the while the light drained from the dull orange Soul Gem. If her Soul Gem hadn't been filled to glowing brilliance with the light of hope and companionship, the fight would have been over already, and as it was, there was barely a minute left before all hope was gone. Then, Rumia suddenly stopped her dance with a grunt of pain. Before the she could react, Nova peeled herself out of the Youkai of Darkness' shadow and slammed her fist into Rumia's kidney again. "Let. Her. Go."

"And if I don't? What will you do then? What can you even do, little toy?" Rumia whirled about, trading hand for hand on the hilt of her sword and sweeping her bloodstained talons through the space occupied by the ex-Incubator's throat. There was nothing there for Rumia's claws to cut, which drew a snarl of frustration from the Youkai of Darkness, which turned into a squeal of rage as a fist hit her in the kidneys once again. Still, Rumia hung on to the sword as she whirled around for another strike. Again, Nova shadow-stepped out of the attack.

"One last time, I ask you, release her. This can still end well."

"Is that so~?" Rumia chirped in an almost-innocent voice. It was enough to wrack a strangled sob from Mystia and Cirno both, which matched the sound of pain Charlotte gave as the Youkai of Darkness twisted her wicked blade. "Of course it's going to end well! I'm going to eat both your souls!"

"No. That you will not do." A single crimson bolt leaped from Nova's finger and bore through the sleeve of Charlotte's coat with unerring accuracy. The shot impacted its' target with a crunch of breaking glass and the peach-haired girl went limp and still. "I am Nova Floresca, Unit 952 of the Incubator Project. I walk in the shadows in order to keep the last light of this world from fading away. It is my duty to make wishes come true. And if what you wish for is pain and death, little girl, then you shall have it."

A thin cry of pain came from the ex-Incubator's lips as blood began to spill out from her left hand. Nova's eyes snapped open. Rumia's sword snapped up to the ready. With a quick burst of danmaku to lead the way, Nova rushed the Youkai of Darkness, who slashed through the barrage with a sneer. The sword flicked out, hungry for blood.

Nova shadow-stepped past the attack, directly behind Rumia, but the Youkai of Darkness barked out a laugh as she poured her strength into the swing, her sword keening about in anticipation of Nova's trick. Red eyes met red as Rumia turned, but it was Nova who held the savage glee of a predator springing upon prey. There was not enough time for the Youkai of Darkness to bring her dread weapon to bear before Nova smacked her straight in the chest with a rapid strike. Rumia stumbled back, dazed by the attack and pawing uncomprehendingly at the lump on her chest. It was a Grief Seed, stuck by the needle into the flesh. Then red eyes met red once more, and Rumia stared in shock as Nova slammed her hand with its' teardrop wound into the Grief Seed, driving the evil thing into the Youkai of Darkness' heart.

"Take that pain into yourself and remember it well," Nova intoned as Rumia stumbled back and fell, threads of diseased iron burrowing into her flesh. "That is the curse that befell a girl I once knew. All she wished was to bring a gift to the one she loved, to ease her mother's suffering. The curse not only killed her, it devoured her whole existence and replaced it with hate and damnation. That is real pain. It took a miracle to save her, and it is that miracle that you tried to destroy today. Do you understand now?" Strangled sounds made their way from Rumia as she thrashed upon the ground, which might have been an acknowledgment.

"Well, that's sufficient, I suppose." As the anger faded, Nova seemed to shrink into herself. When the white-haired girl turned to look at Cirno, the ice fairy was surprised to see a flash of pitch-black bitterness cross Nova's face, then to be replaced by a sort of wistful fondness. It was enough to make Cirno ball her fists. _Eye aughta rip you a new one_! thought Cirno, wishing the ex-Incubator could hear her, but Nova had already turned away. A Spellcard appeared in Nova's hand, which prompted the ice fairy to bare her sword once more and spring to attack.

"_Division Sign ~ 1 / 0 Causality Crash!_" Crimson light flashed through the space, gone before it was there, and Cirno faltered in her charge.

"Arrgh! Why the hell does it always taste like- like flat cola and chocolate?!" Charlotte sat up, holding her head in her hands. The look on the peach-haired girl's face made Cirno think of how she herself had looked the morning after sneaking a gulp from Suika's gourd. The peach-haired girl was still trying to clear her head when arms wrapped around her.

"Oh Gods I'm so s-sorry for hating you I'll do whatever you want just please don't do something like that agaiiin!" Charlotte just stared in confusion as Wriggle wailed on her shoulder.

"It's okay, really. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." replied Charlotte. _What in hell?_ she mouthed to Cirno, who just shook her head and shrugged._  
_

"Y-you should be sorry! Acting all cool and then throwing yourself into that. Maybe you don't care about your life, but what about the rest of us, huh? You think your friends want to watch you die? You-" Cirno decided on a solution to the firefly's mercurial mood, and that was to take Wriggle by the ear and peel her off of Charlotte.

"Okay, that's enough. Cool down or I'll chill ya down myself! And you!" thrusting an imperious finger at Charlotte, she continued, "That's twice now! You need to get some sword-proof underwear!" Cirno hugged Charlotte so tight, she thought the ice fairy might never let go, and she didn't mind one bit.

Rumia meanwhile was genuinely surprised to be opening her eyes. The way things had hurt a moment ago, she was doubly surprised that she wasn't in the lowest rung of Makai. Then a face loomed over her, and Rumia squealed in fright and fervently wished to be in the abyssal depths. The dreadblade came to her hand in a wild swing which was arrested almost immediately by Nova's hand around her wrist. Nova used that grip to haul Rumia to her feet, noting idly that it took a bit more _up_ than it used to with Rumia.

"Now, you have a choice. You can either continue being the beast," here the ex-Incubator glanced down at the dreadblade, which dangled in Rumia's limp grip, "Which will last for just as long as it takes me to strike you down for true."

"Or what?"

"Or you can go back to your friends and figure out how to handle yourself."

"Why would I do that? I'm strong, and they're weak."

"And just how do you figure that?" replied Nova, which was enough to make Rumia stop and gape in disbelief. "Answer me this: Who is the most powerful person in Gensokyo?"

"Yukari Yakumo, everybody knows that!"

"Wrong."

"What'd'ya mean 'wrong'? She's super-crazy strong!" Rumia snapped back.

"I said 'most powerful', not 'strongest'."

"They're the same thing!" Rumia protested, now fully engaged in the argument.

"No they aren't," replied Nova. "And anyway, you're still wrong. Flandre Scarlet, Utsuho Reiuji, they're both stronger than Yukari, by a good measure. Once we get our full powers back, Cirno will actually stand above her in strength."

"Okay, then, the answer to your question is still Yukari, because she's got her fingers in everybody's business and everybody fears her." replied Rumia with a sneer.

"Still wrong. Yes, Yukari is all over the place, and yes people fear her, but they also hate her _because_ she makes them afraid. Yes I know this couldn't happen, but if Yukari was drowning in a lake, I can't think of one person except maybe Yuyuko who would actually pick up a hand to help her (_Lift_ a hand, you idiot! shouted Cirno from behind)."

"Alright then, what is the answer, genius?"

"Byakuren Hijiri." Nova replied, which was certainly not the answer anyone had been expecting.

"Buh?!" was Rumia's first word in response, followed by, "Did you do your cheat-jump-move one too many times and leave your brain behind or something?"

"No, no, follow me on this. Byakuren loves everybody, and everybody loves her back. She can tell people, powerful people, what they don't want to hear and they'll just choke it down. Reimu might have come up with that Compact idea, but it was Byakuren who just crooked a finger and got gods, mortals, and the demons of Makai to come listen to her. Hell, a rival pops up _literally_ from beneath her, from what I heard, an ambitious and powerful rival, and what does Byakuren do? She sits the woman down for tea, and next thing you know, Miko is playing along with her love-and-peace routine as the junior partner, and they're even sharing a bed, and it's not because Myouren Temple is short on space." Rumia grimaced as she connected the dots on that last bit.

"So what're you saying then?" asked Cirno, joining the conversation for the first time.

"I guess what I'm saying is beware of the nice ones," replied Nova. All at once every eye in the room was on Daiyousei.

"Eee! Don't look at me, I'm not planning anything, honest! E-except for the surprise party for Cirno's- Oops! Forget you heard that, okay?"

"Okay, pretend I'm convinced. So what do we do now then?" Rumia grumbled.

"Now? Right now? This very instant? We go and whack the holy hell out of a bunch of Purifiers. Later can sort itself out."


	16. Wonderful Heaven

**Episode 16 : Wonderful Heaven**

BGM: Alstroemeria Records - Plastik World - "Saigetsu"

A flying body greeted Sanae as she entered the battlefield. What had once been a corrupted forest fairy was now a speeding mass of wreckage, on account of an unfortunate encounter with the fist of Suika Ibuki. The Moriya shrine maiden ducked the mulch missile and came up shooting, releasing her signature poison serpents into the fray as much to announce her presence as to do any real damage. Not that aiming was a significant challenge; a veritable carpet of Reductors and corrupted minions swarmed the area, and every shot fired hit _something_ which needed to die.

The problem was, things weren't dying fast enough. For sure, Suika was fighting like a tiny tempest, her every punch and kick striking a foe with lethal force, and Alice had marshaled her doll army into phalanxes which stood like a wall of iron against the attackers, and those that managed to slip past were balked by a warding of actual iron, thrown up from the ground itself by Suwako Moriya, bending all her divine power to the task of fighting off the murderous hordes.

_Nobody can afford to fight like this!_ Sanae found herself almost overwhelmed by the ferocity of the battle at hand, and terror crept up on her. Here, Suwako was panting as she channeled power into the earth again. There, Alice detonated a doll with _Return Inanimateness_, and then with the short reprieve, the puppeteer quickly stitched the pieces of several other dolls back together as makeshift reinforcements. And this was from a battle of only ten minutes' time!

The pieces came together at once, and a grin spread across Sanae's face. _Nobody_ can_ afford to fight like this! Time alone will break their thrust, and it won't even require much of that! _The shrine maiden's gohei wand flickered through the air as she drew sigils of power and protection. "The blessings of Kanako-sama be upon this day! Stand firm, and they lose!" As soon as the prayer took effect, the gohei was replaced in Sanae's hand by a Spellcard to match actions to words, but before she could release the power within, the sky exploded and she was thrown off her feet.

* * *

"And this is why I love you so, Yukari Yakumo, because you always find me fun and exciting dinner guests," Satori spoke in a deadpan as she sidestepped a slash of killing darkness, and then gave further vent to her vexation by cracking off a _Double Black Death Butterfly_ in the direction from whence the beam came. The mistress of the Palace of the Earth Spirits justified to herself the wholesale theft of her allies' Spellcards because a) as superior danmaku duelists, their spells were better than her own, b) Yukari owed her for the trouble, and c) if she didn't use every advantage at hand, they were probably all dead.

"Satori, dear, you really should take after your sister more. I've heard that bitterness caused by a lack of release is bad for the complexion." replied Yukari in a much-exaggerated solicitous tone. The sarcasm masked a deep and terrible rage seething in the core of the Border Youkai- the corrupted humans being sent at them were bad enough, but they were just trash, scum of the earth given a tidbit of power, without the wit or cruelty to be truly effective. The Purifiers on the other hand were proving to be dangerous and resilient; after the first kill, none of their kind had deigned to go through a gap again, and they were annoyingly resistant to being killed, even when Yukari opened several gaps within the structure of the body. Worse was the fact the target of the barb wasn't in fact present- Koishi had wandered off during the fight somehow, and there was neither time nor opportunity to call her back.

"Then what's your excuse? Or is Ran not putting out any longer?" Satori shot back. Further byplay was put on hold as her previous target staggered back to its' feet and made another pass, and then Satori was dancing back out of range as ethereal butterflies came down to land upon the Purifier in droves, shredding the nightmare flesh of the creature. _"There are two whose fate must entwine if they are to be saved" what in Hellfire does that mean? I swear, sister dearest, you and that little ferret-y harlot are going to get a very stern talking-to. If I survive this mess, that is._

"Ladies, we can all adjourn to my abode and have nice refreshing tea when this is over, but a certain diligence on your parts will determine whether you have the option of leaving afterward," replied Yuyuko, sharp and cold. There simply wasn't time for the princess of the Netherworld to maintain her pleasantly slow and soft mien in the course of the battle. Satori and Yukari shared one last glare of mutual dislike and then turned and both let loose on the fiend which Yuyuko had began working on, annihilating the Purifier with main force. That was sufficient to set the other attackers aback for a moment, and the momentum of the battle seemed to be shifting in favor of the forces of snark.

And then Kogasa let out a squeal of terror as the shadows around the tree which she was using for cover began to boil and writhe.

* * *

_This day just keeps getting worse, _Reimu observed to herself as she leaped clear from yet another lethal strike. By all rights, hers should have been the easy job. Whereas Remilia had headed home to rouse the Mansion, and Youmu and Mami were headed for Eientei, while Alice and Marisa covered Youkai Mountain, Reimu only had Myouren Temple to worry about, with Murasa and Shou, Byakuren herself and Miko as ready allies, with Nue and Mamizou and the rest of Miko's crew sure to be drawn to the clamor of battle as well. Myouren was supposed to be the rallying point, the place where the Compact would overcome the treacherous assault the quickest and be able to lend a hand to their friends.

Apparently the Overseer had enough strength to spare to make that notion an impossibility. Already Reimu and the others had done for two of the Purifiers, and there were at least two more lurking out there, and at least twice that many Warlocks as well. The air sang as a blade passed so close behind Reimu's head that she felt the tug of its' wake in her hair. Four noises told her what had happened; first came the _scuff, scuff_ of Miko's sandaled feet as she landed from the leaping attack which brought her next to the shrine maiden, and then came the _puff, puff_ of a Reductor's bisected corpse hitting the flagstones. Reimu didn't even bother to say her thanks, instead putting all her concentration into aiming the Yin-Yang Orb as it blew clean through one of the iron-bound monstrosities clogging the field.

Even the elements themselves seemed to have it out for the Myouren crew- the sky was darkening by the minute, and the winds were blowing harsh and chill with the promise of rain. _At least I left my umbrella in a better place this time, _thought Reimu. Out of the corner of her eye she could see the bamboo staff jutting out of the skull of one of the Warlocks where she had buried it in the initial attack. New green shoots were peeking out the top, and roots had burrowed through the wreck to make sure it wouldn't rise again. _Well,_ somebody_ might get some use out of the coming storm, I hope._

Waves upon waves of destructive spellcraft swept across the front garden as Byakuren and Shou, then Mononobe no Futo and Nue chained Spellcards to strike down the attackers. One of the Purifiers fell to the massive attack, and Reimu darted in to finish it off with a seal. The shrine maiden shuddered as she watched the corpse turn to smoke and disappear. _So insubstantial. What sort of life do they lead, do they even have an existence outside their missions?_

Still, it wasn't quite enough. Two more Purifiers emerged from the shadows to replace the one that was lost. Frustration welled up inside Reimu- they were going to be overwhelmed, and there was nothing they could do. Yuuka had gone off in search of help, she had said, although she left in the direction of the Garden of the Sun. Reimu couldn't begrudge Yuuka that- she deserved the chance to secure her home first, and anyway there wasn't any help to be found, as far as Reimu could tell. _I hope somebody is doing better than us, so at least one group survives to pick up the pieces._

* * *

Harmony. Such a welcome word, and a lovely state of being besides._ Or is that the state of being beside a lovely being?_ The thought was enough to merit a giggle from Mami as she and Youmu raced through the stormy skies toward Eientei. Yes, they were in terrible danger, and sure, the coming battle was going to put all of them, Gensokyan and Mitikaharan alike to the test, but at the moment Mami felt only joy. Theirs was a righteous cause, with good-hearted heroines striving for noble goal, without any unpleasant compromises to be tended to. _And no falsehoods, either._

Mami frowned, slightly, as she pondered recent events. _I should tell Sakura-san the rest of it. She deserves to know the whole truth. _In her pensive state, Mami recognized that she had been pleased when she and Kyoko drifted apart, and thankful that by the time she returned to the land of the living, the rampageous redhead had connected herself to Sayaka. For Mami had been attracted to Kyoko originally because she found Kyoko exciting. But earthquakes and tsunamis could also be called "exciting", and Mami had no more wanted to spend her life with Kyoko than she wanted to live through one continuous natural disaster.

For her part, Youmu found herself in a curiously zen state- it was though she was standing outside watching herself act. The swordswoman understood what was taking root in her consciousness, but she wasn't directly experiencing it. In the past, questions of loyalty and duty had held her back from letting similar seeds be planted, but this time she was content to let be whatever would be. _And worst case, it is not as though Lady Yuyuko would turn away a master of the pastry-crafting arts!_ That thought brought with it a giggle.

"What is on your mind, Konpaku-san?" asked Mami in response.

"I was merely musing upon the predictability of self-interest."

"Indeed. And what specifically were you predicting?"

"That when given a choice, my Lady will invariably take the option that leads to the greatest amount of cake."

"She is much like Sakura-san in that regard. At least your Yuyuko uses utensils."

"That is guaranteed only when we have company," replied Youmu.

"Oh." Further conversation was set aside as Youmu descended toward their destination. It appeared that, like the other Compact strongholds, Eientei had been the scene of a battle. The key word, though, was "had", and the reason for the past-tense nature of the conflict was standing in the clearing, idly smoking a cigarette.

"If you two are the cavalry, you're a little late, and a little . . . little." said Fujiwara no Mokou, smirking around her smoke.

"We were sent to make sure Eientei was aware of the hostilities, but the problem seems to be resolved." replied Youmu. "We were not aware the situation was already handled, but then again, we were not expecting you to intervene on behalf of the Lunarians."

"Well somebody's gotta show that silly bitch how things are done. 'Course, if I do it once, she'll probably expect it in the future, and that's going to be a royal pain in my ass. 's not like I was watching the place or anything . . ." Mami and Youmu locked eyes and wordlessly shared their opinion of the story. The frank appraisal made the phoenix's face go red with anger, embarrassment, or both when she caught on. Mokou ground out her cigarette beneath her heel and took off in order to escape further considerations, but before she got to altitude, a pillar of fire erupted from the direction of Youkai Mountain.

"What are the chances that's something we wanted to have happen?" said Mami. Youmu and Mokou both turned to glare at the blonde gunner, but she was already in the air and heading toward the scene. The others quickly followed, and Youmu felt herself slipping into another moment of zen as feelings of admiration rose with in her, and feelings of battle-lust beneath that.

* * *

Yukari turned to face the writhing shadows, and so did her attackers. The Border Youkai was not surprised when the shadow-stuff exploded outward, but she was taken aback when the substance resolved itself into a sneaker-clad foot traveling at considerable velocity. It must be noted though that the shock Yukari felt paled in comparison to that of the human-type Warlock whose face was the receptacle for Wriggle's opening strike.

"Oh, we're saved . . . or not." mused Yukari as the shadows flowed outward into the shape of Rumia, who then kept flowing right on through the enemy line, her dreadblade harvesting the heads of corrupted fairies like wheat before the scythe.

"Nice to see you're still as unpleasant as ever, Yukari, or did your Shikigami give you the mange again?" replied Rumia in a tone as sharp as her sword.

"Okay, I like this girl," was Satori's contribution. Wriggle and Rumia, however, were just the harbingers of the coming storm. Belatedly, Nova had recalled all the aspects of her existence as an Incubator. Charlotte and Cirno could be forgiven for not knowing that originally the Puella Magi had relied on their mutual empathic link because it let them communicate without Kyubey listening in. With Nova mediating the link once more, the Nineball and the Dessert Witch exploded out of the shadows as a single hurricane within two bodies. Incendiary orange danmaku stitched up a Warlock, throwing it off balance even as Charlotte hurdled the monster so Cirno could strike it with a headlong rush, her ice blade punching deep into its' vitals and with a twist Cirno cut free the heartline connection of the Sorrow Graft and the creature dropped dead on the ground. At the same time, Charlotte was playing ring-around-the-Warlock, getting the second of the monsters enraged as she dodged around it before stopping suddenly, raking the Warlock with her danmaku as it stutter-stepped past. As the monster turned to pounce, Charlotte popped off a _Yin and Yang, _and suddenly the Warlock was throwing itself onto a blade of ice. Cirno twirled the Warlock about and hurled it off her blade, leaving the monster to stumble backward right into Nova's hands. The ex-Incubator was forewarned and so greeted the Warlock with an all-out barrage, the bloody red bolts flying so thick and fast that it appeared that a single head-thick bar of light shot through the Warlock.

"Hey, hurry up, ya old hags, or we're gonna kill yours for ya!" cried Wriggle, even as she dropped a meteor on top of where a handful of the Redactors were attempting to regroup.

"Oh, we shall see about that," replied Yukari.

* * *

Oyabun Yamaguchi was crouched behind a packing crate, feeling both foolish and angry. _Here I am, stuck in what might be the most significant firefight in history, and I'm useless! No, worse!_ Things had certainly started off well enough- following Homura's signal, Yamaguchi and his men had annihilated one of the strange organic-metal constructs. That had been the end of the good news.

The "Old Cat" had brought out the best in his arsenal for the fight, M-16 assault rifles, genuine military grade hardware, and he had supplied each shooter with 7 full magazines of ammunition, an amount considered sufficient by the US military to send soldiers into battle with. They'd shot through that in just over two minutes. And then the trouble began. First, Yamaguchi nearly got killed because he couldn't communicate with the Puella Magi- not possessing supernatural regeneration meant that even with earplugs the Yakuza boss was having a hard time hearing from all the gunfire. Then the empty shell casings had become a problem, when Kyoko got some of the spent brass under her feet and went rollerskating across the room. What could well have been tragedy was averted by the redhead's razor-honed reflexes, but it was still enough to give Yamaguchi serious heartburn. In the end, the Yakuza were reduced to taking shelter in a corner and popping off a few pistol shots when Homura singled out a weakened target.

Suddenly, the shadows began to boil around Yamaguchi's position. Recognizing the characteristic of Incubator works, the Yakuza chief quickly abandoned his position for a safer one. "Incoming!" shouted the Old Cat as he moved, and all eyes were on the impending arrivals. Unnoticed in the commotion, a slender crescent of madness peeled open behind the last remaining Purifier in the room and a figure slid out, her brows furled in a thunderous scowl.

"Boo." Yukari spooked the Purifier who all but teleported a few meters across the room to escape the new arrival. And then the shadows boiled away entirely in a technicolor firestorm. Aided by the Border Youkai's scrying eyes, Cirno, Charlotte, and the other picnickers came out of Nova's portal shooting, and the hapless Purifier jerked and danced in the blasts for a moment before simply exploding.

In the space of the shock that followed, Rumia flowed into the room, grabbed the nearest Warlock by the hair and slammed him down the length of her dreadblade, and that signaled the rout. Things came apart so quickly that the casing from Yamaguchi's first shot was still tap-dancing on the floor when the last bits of Reductor-stuffing evaporated.

"Congratulations, Unit 952, you have managed to add many hundreds more to the tally of victims that will die for your disobedience."

"Or if you like, I can put him out of your misery," Rumia cut in. "Actually, can I do that anyway? There's only a need for one shadowsouled professional badass in this world, and I call dibs!"

"Charming, if crude. I shall greatly enjoy watching you struggle against the Cleanse, little beast."

"Are you actually an idiot?!" Nova shot back. "We already destroyed the Walpurgis, what good do you think that will do to summon another?"

"Oh, I wasn't planning on beginning the Cleanse here. Let us see if your friends inside that pathetic Border can withstand the Walpurgis." Hatred twisted the onyx planes of the Overseer's face into a vile mask. "As for you wretches, you want your powers back? Take them, and choke!" The translocation portal pitched into a nausea-inducing thrum and varicolored streamers of light reached out, touching each of the Puella Magi. The beams brought each of their powers back, but they also brought more; streams of muddy corruption filled each link, tainting the girls' Soul Gems with pure, unfiltered grief drawn from the Project's storage batteries. But as their powers were restored, so too were the rules of the wishes which were the very foundations of the Soul Gems themselves. Not even the Overseer, the being designated Unit 003, the creature who had helped to design the systems now being bent to the purpose of malice, not even he could disobey the strictures of the wishes, and so the epochs of grief that were poured into the Puella Magi filled their Soul Gems only until a single scintilla of light remained, and then the rest was channeled into a single Soul Gem in accordance with its mistress's wish.

There was no explosion, no great upheaval as the singular Soul Gem broke under the strain. There was only a terrible stillness as Kreimhild Gretchin was born.

* * *

Youmu braked hard in the air after she noticed Mami lose control and tumble to her own stop. "What is the matter?" asked the half-phantom, knowing that whatever had disrupted the blonde Puella Magi must be serious.

"My powers, they're back- ahh!" Mami cried out as the Overseer's wicked attack reached her. Panic made Mami whip off her beret from where it had manifested along with the rest of her costume, in order to see for herself what she could feel happening. The horrific assault stopped just before consuming Mami entirely, but that left her Soul Gem a sickly dark amber color. Then more information flooded in over the empathic link, and tears sprung up in Mami's eyes.

"The Overseer- he got her. Madoka."

"Do not surrender your hope yet. Your people have proven amazingly resilient in the face of death, enough so that Yuyuko-sama has stopped holding guest rooms ready in Hakugyokurou."

"I don't- this is different. She has turned into a Witch, a fate far worse than death. I was never so thankful for my friends as the day when they managed to slay Hashihime, the Witch I had become." Mami gathered herself to say more, but a lance of shadow shot past her ear. The blonde gunner had weapons in hand as fast as she was able, but Youmu was faster, and the illusory sprite which had attacked them faster still. Immediately, the unreal attacker set upon Youmu, lashing out with swooping, swirling blows from a weapon that seemed to be both solid and flexible all at the same time. It was a fighting style Mami knew all too well. Whatever malice animated the shade, it cared only for Youmu, slashing and striking at the swordswoman with complete abandon right up until the moment when Mami laid a musket over Youmu's shoulder and blew the top half of the shade clean off.

"That . . . apparition, it fought like your red-haired friend." Youmu reflexively cleared her swords and sheathed them, worry in her eyes.

"Yeah. It means things have gotten even worse. That was a familiar of the Walpurgis."

"But, I thought you had killed the Walpurgis? With the tremendous release of power that first drew Yukari's attention to you all?"

"So did I." Mami returned Youmu's look of worry. "I would implore you to run to a place of safety, if I thought any could be found."

"And I would not leave you to face this menace alone, not if all the nine Hells marched alongside it."

"Thank you," replied Mami, smiling for the first time in a while.

"There is one ray of light, at least- that pillar of fire seems to have gone out." added Youmu as she scanned the sky.

"Well, that helps. Somehow I don't think saying 'will all world-ending catastrophes please form an orderly queue to the left' would have worked."

"We should be so lucky," replied Youmu.

* * *

Homura looked up at the monstrous form of Kreimhild Gretchin with a wan expression on her face. "I suppose it's asking too much for you to just Crash her back to normal," muttered the black-haired girl.

"I'm sorry. I can only alter that which keeps me from understanding who they are, what makes them human." replied Nova. "That makes it doubly useless- if somebody doesn't change from when I last knew them, it doesn't work. And if I _do_ change, if I start to understand what makes you human, it doesn't work either." Bitterness flooded into Nova's voice as she regarded the gigantic Witch. "If Koishi hadn't done what she did to me-"

A slap knocked Nova off her line of thought and left the ex-Incubator stumbling besides. As she put a hand to the reddening patch of skin upon her face, Nova came face-to-face with Homura, whose eyes simmered with emotion. "Do _not_ say that. If you mean to say that in order to turn Gretchin back into Madoka we would need to turn Nova back into Kyubey, that is not a fair trade."

" . . . I thought you hated me." said Nova quietly.

"I cannot forgive you for what you have done," replied Homura, shedding a bit of the chill in her voice. "But I don't hate you."

"I- Thank you." replied Nova. Just then a beam of awesomely bright light slashed through the roof of the building, blowing both Puella Magi off their feet with thermal shock. "Oh, right, ginormous Witch." said the ex-Incubator as she looked up at where the beam had come from.

* * *

"Oh no, I'm never going to pass this test. And then they'll all hate me. What am I gonna do?" The question bounced around the utterly empty classroom before returning to Madoka, who then sighed. She was sitting the most important test of her life and she wasn't prepared at all.

Outside the classroom windows, a bright light crashed and something like thunder rattled the windows, only the heavy rolling thunderheads lit up with throbbing violet light. Madoka sighed again and chewed the end of her pencil, as she stared down at her paper, wishing the test would answer itself for her. And to think it looked so simple- just a single question, and a blank expanse of paper on which to answer it. "Where is Heaven?" muttered Madoka as she read the question once more, hoping for inspiration. An irritating buzz came to Madoka's ears at the same time that a pinprick of pain blossomed on her neck. Annoyed, the pink-haired girl slapped at the spot, feeling something crush under her hand. "Wherever it is, this sure isn't it . . ."

* * *

Homura peered down into the smoking crater in the warehouse floor, in which Yukari lay looking up at her with unfocused eyes. The Border Youkai blinked until her eyes clear and then glared up at the black-haired girl, somehow managing to convey a "Get on with it!" kind of gesture with a bare nod of the head. Rolling her eyes, Homura reached down and hauled Yukari to her feet.

"I could have told you that would fail to work." muttered Homura.

"Simply because _you_ cannot do a thing, does not mean it cannot be done," replied Yukari.

"I seem to recall that we first came to know one another because of your concern over an expenditure of power."

"Indeed," Yukari weighed her reply down with hostility.

"What you felt was the strike that felled the Walpurgis. Gretchin is capable of such an outlay in a single blow." Homura matched Yukari in cold anger, and then some. "We shall not defeat her by main force."

"Then why are we still here?"

"Because she doesn't want to kill us," replied Homura. "She wants to save us."

"Her methods leave much to be desired." Yukari grumped.

* * *

Reimu Hakurei gritted her teeth and waited for death in the momentary calm. As the winds whipped into a howling tempest, the Purifiers and their minions had melted back into the shadows. _But that's only because they don't _need_ to be here anymore,_ came the grim admission. The storm overhead had intensified into a hellish hurricane, one that brought not rain, but evil.

The Yin-yang Orb exploded through a wraith hovering overhead that had been pelting the Gensokyans with a hailstorm of shadowy bullets from a peacock's plume of wicked rifles fanned about it. It wasn't enough. Then a swarm of ofuda tore through a dreadful bank of fog that had coalesced in the courtyard and an ephemeral shriek pierced the air as a slight figure was revealed from within the receding mass of poison gas. Other danmaku tore that wraith apart. It still wasn't enough.

Pain shot through Reimu as a strike took her from behind, and she wasn't even able to cry out as she fell. Rancid laughter echoed in the shrine maiden's ears as she rolled to confront the newest wraith, this one shaking with mad laughter, all while holding its' heart in one hand, the organ bleeding from a slash that might have been an eyelid. Realization came to Reimu, even as she unleashed her _Evil-Sealing Needle_ Spellcard to banish the attacker.

_So this is their Walpurgisnacht. I wonder, would anything have made a difference? Was there something I missed, that would have let me win this battle? Maybe Yukari was right after all. Maybe we should have just killed them off when we first met-_

_**Stop! You should not think such things.**_

"Uh . . ?" Reimu stood bemused in the eye of the storm, barely managing to defend herself from the other wraiths which passed around her. She was used to being talked back to, but never by a voice inside her head before. _Well this is new,_ thought the shrine maiden.

_**A-are you there, Reimu? It's me, god.**_

"Okay, what the hell?!" Annoyance at the divine interruption set Reimu's teeth to grinding, and so she released the Yin-Yang Orb to act on its' own, dividing into four spheres of equal weight which swarmed around the shrine maiden to ward off any attacks while she set about the unfamiliar practice of communing with a deity. _So what gives? Let me guess, since my time on this mortal coil is just about at an end, you're here to bitch me out for following an incorrect path and then it's off to Eiki to get my ears boxed some more, is that it?_

_**YOU'RE DYING?! Oh no, please stop! Umm . . . how do I? This might work, hang on!**_

Sunlight cracked through the churning clouds and then Reimu was blown down by a sudden shock that left her limbs twitching and fizzing with energy. It felt like nothing so much as the time Marisa slipped her a dose of her newest witch's brew in place of tea. _OW!_ _Item 1: What the fuck was that? Item 2: USE AN INDOOR VOICE WHEN YOU'RE TALKING INSIDE MY HEAD!_

_**Oh! Sorry! Sorry! I didn't mean to do that. I was just trying to heal you since you were dying. I'm not very good at this whole deity stuff yet.**_

_Actually, I wasn't and am still not dying, but that's only going to last for about two more minutes, if the Whatchamacallit keeps attacking. So mind hurrying up so I can at least go down swinging._

_**Uh, that's kinda what I wanted to talk to you about. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you, Reimu. I mean like not at all, let alone in this position. Thank you, for saving me and for showing me the way.**_

Realization crept in, and Reimu felt a sharp-toothed ball of worry suddenly start gnawing at her gut. _Oh holy hellfire!_

_**Er, not anymore, although I think I scared Sanae a bit when my powers awoke. Apparently when you become a god, the job tells you what you can do, rather than the other way around . . . where was I? Oh yeah! Followers! Kanako-san said followers were a good thing to have. So what'd'ya think?**_

_Umm . . . think about what? _Reimu shook her head and focused on the exterior world for a moment, retreating from a fresh onslaught of shadow-spawned minions.

_**Becoming my follower, silly! It would really help me out, and I could do some neat things for you too!**_

_Eh, why the hell not? Can't even be the worst decision I've made this week. So where do I sign, or how does this work?_

_**That's all I need. Just kneel down for a moment. The fancy stuff is all on my end.**_

Reimu Hakurei dropped to one knee in the middle of the battlefield and immediately felt silly as her fellow fighters looked at her in varying degrees of worry and shock. But then the wan light intensified, until Reimu found herself kneeling in a pool of warm, brilliant sunlight.

_**Accept this gift as a token of My covenant with thee, o supplicant, and know that thou mayst beseech and call upon My powers from now on for as long as thee keepeth true to My faith. Now arise, Reimu Hakurei! Arise, o Priestess of the Radiant Sun!**_

Power surged through Reimu's entire being, like the release of a Spellcard only, so much more. _OOOH yeah, I could get used to this! _Reimu looked up to the still-dark sky outside her ray of sun, but even with her empowerment, she still felt dread clutch her heart. _Of course, there's still a world-ending Whatchamacallit staring us down, so it's not like I'm going to get much chance to enjoy it._

_**Hey! Didn't you read the rules? No pessimism!**_

A meteor fell from the sky to crash down in the much-abused courtyard, scattering the Walpurgis' wraiths in all directions. When the flames refused to die down, Reimu shaded her eyes and took a closer look- and gasped in shock as she realized what she was seeing. At a glance, it appeared to be a figure made from chrome, black steel and polished alabaster. But a closer look showed that the firelight was more than simply being reflected off the figure's breastplate, full-sleeve gauntlet and the single articulated, high-heeled legplate encasing her right leg, the metal actually glowed with an inner radiance, as did the figure herself.

"I don't know where you monsters come from, and I don't care. All those who feel the warm light of the Sun may make claim of my protection. If you want to find out just what that means, then _COME ON!_"

BGM : O-Life Japan - Touhou Onsen Matsuri - "You Seem To Be Having Fun"

BGM : 1:16

The wraiths did not seem to be impressed as Utsuho flung back her cape and surged into the battlefield, but Reimu certainly was; whereas the old Utsuho had been powerful but crude, now the Sun Goddess had both the power and the temper to put it to good use. Her first headlong charge swept up two of the gunslinging wraiths before they could bring their artillery to bear, and the phantoms just disappeared in a frenzy of slicing claws and crushing kicks. This left Utsuho right out in the open, which the other shadowy attackers took as an opportunity. Ethereal Familiars pounced on the hell raven with swords and scourges and cackles of evil laughter, but Utsuho swept her wings up over her head, going to one knee as she sought to shield herself . A spark of intent came across to Reimu, as her patron let her in on the joke. The Priestess of the Radiant Sun braked her charge and stood back to watch.

A new sun dawned in the middle of the courtyard. There wasn't even time for Walpurgis' Familiars to screech their agony as Utsuho triggered a localized nuclear fusion reaction just above her own flesh. The pulse was over even before the heat reached Byakuren at the temple steps, and then Utsuho raised her pinions to their full extent and shook off the smoking remains of her attackers. She didn't have time to celebrate, however, as the blast drew Walpurgis herself into the battle. Reimu shouted out a warning and launched the Yin-Yang Orb, which streaked across the sky as a ball of molten gold to slam into the shadow-limned coil of destructive force sweeping down upon the battlefield. The Orb shot damaged the spring, but that wasn't enough to keep it from smashing full-on into Utusho, who was flung skyward by the impact. The Sun Goddess braked to a halt in mid air, her pinions working hard to arrest her flight. The Queen of the Witches laughed once again and uprooted a tree, a venerable ancient of the forest as thick as a subway car and launched the enormous missile toward Utsuho.

"Hades Cannon." announced the Sun Goddess. It seemed an odd statement for even a divine being facing down an arboreal battering ram, but in response to the command the gauntlet on Utsuho's right arm folded into itself and extended out a 6-barreled cannon that was already blurring up to speed even as it stretched forth. With a horrible tearing noise the Hades Cannon spat forth a torrent of Hell-hot iron slugs, so fast that they appeared as a solid beam of burning light, ripping the tree in half before it could hit. Utsuho then turned her weapon on the Walpurgis, carving an ugly curly-cue scar across the giant Witch's face before the barrels softened and jammed. For a moment, there was only silence as the two foes regarded one another, then the Witch shrieked and wrapped its' tendrils around three more trees.

* * *

" 'Distract the giant Pinkie-Witch', she says. 'It's your kind of fight', she says. If I didn't know that girl had a crush on me, I'd swear she was trying to get me bumped off!" Kyoko cursed under her breath as a hail of fire rained down upon the building she had been standing upon. The lances of dark light glowed purple, which a tiny, detached portion of Kyoko's mind noted as odd for Madoka. Swooping for the next thing that she might be able to pretend was cover, Kyoko rolled and fired off a little violet light of her own, the Gensokyan spellcraft being the only thing she dared try with as little was left in her Soul Gem. "At least Mister White Knight won't have to worry about property damage!" huffed the redhead.

Indeed, Gretchin's Barrier was plenty big enough to overtake the whole of Mitikahara, and strong enough that burning through to the outside would take a substantial effort. "Maybe we could get some Goddamn backup here? The hell is taking those lazy asses so long!" The plan, such as it was, was to yell for non-depleted help and then keep Gretchin busy until said help showed up.

"They said they're busy, the Walpurgis is kicking their asses. And also something about Reimu becoming apprenticed to a god or something?" replied Charlotte, holding her phone and trying to make out what Mami was saying over the copious amounts of danmaku being hurled at both ends of the line.

"_WHAT?!_ It's just the fucking Walpurgis! It's not like they need to get fancy, just shoot it-" Kyoko's tirade was interrupted when a concussive shot plowed into the building she was sheltering behind, hurling 100 tons of shrapnel her way. Dislocation caused Kyoko to feel like the pit of her stomach was in her feet and in her ears at the same time as Sayaka yanked the redhead to safety with a summoning card. "And seriously Pinkie, knock it the fuck _OFF!_" shouted Kyoko, shaking her fist at the sky.

" . . . oh, it's logarithmic. That makes sense." All eyes turned on Nova as she blurted out what she had found.

"Glad it makes sense for somebody. Now for those of us who can't math, that means . . ?" Kyoko made a furious get-on-with-it kind of motion, spear in hand.

"The purgatory program, what creates the Walpurgis, scales logarithmically with the number of contracts in the affected area. Or basically, because we made four more contracts since last time, it's a whole bunch more powerful that last time."

"WHAT?!" This time it was Sayaka screaming, livid with anger. Nova started to cower, but the blunette waved her off. "Not you, that one!" she replied, thrusting an imperious finger at Kyoko. "What do you mean, you can't do math?!"

"Hey, I said I would pass school, I never said anything about actually _learning _anything!" replied Kyoko, taking the time to sneak a stick of Pocky out of her reserve pack.

"Guh?! That's- You fucking heathen! You'd better hope Gretchin kills you, if not, then I will!"

"Red Oni . . . Blue Oni," Yukari and Homura looked at each other as they made parallel pronouncements upon the bickering couple.

"Hey, at least we're on the right side of things this time," Kyoko replied, ignoring the libelous impingement upon her character. "Could be worse."

"How could it be any worse? We're gonna _die_ here!" Sayaka snarled back.

"Yeah, but at least we're not going to end up going to Gensokyo Hell and have the Brussel Sprout lecture us for all eternity! Man, why couldn't Pinkie have chosen Hell as her new favorite pastime instead, so then we could sic that baton-wielding whacko on her."

"Are you serious? That's your upshot?!"

"Actually, I think the Red Oni might be on to something," Homura mused. "I have an idea. It's crazy, and desperate, and stupid, but I'm not sure what options we have."

"Is that all? What are you waiting for?" replied Yukari.

"I would not have expected you of all people to be an enthusiastic supporter of something this tenuous."

"Have you _met_ Marisa Kirisame?" Yukari fired back. "Plans that are 'crazy, and desperate, and stupid' are the go-to answers in Gensokyo, even when there _are_ other options. This will be just like normal."

"Very well then. I need you to project my consciousness into Gretchin."

"You intend to 'talk her down', as it were?" Yukari arched an eyebrow. "I can do that, but it won't be easy, and I can't guarantee you won't be destroyed by her psyche when you enter."

"As opposed to be blasted or stomped into oblivion out here?" Homura shook her head. "Do it." Yukari nodded in response, and then a gap appeared, only instead of the usual staring eyes in the darkness, this one was shot through with crackling pink lightning. Before she could step forward however, Homura felt her feet get pulled out from beneath her. The black-haired girl looked up in time to see Kyoko leaping into the gap, scorpion spear in hand.

_Sorry bout that, Homerun, but if things go sour, you're gonna do a better job figuring out Plan "B" than I could._

"That God-damned fiend . . . " Homura levered herself to her feet. A hand grabbed her own. Sayaka looked at Homura, her blue eyes blazing with emotions.

"We can take turns killing her when she gets back, deal?" Homura tried to nod, tried to speak, but her knees buckled instead.

". . . God damn her, God damn her . . ." Homura sobbed.

"Which one?" Sayaka asked, taking a knee next to her fallen teammate.

"W-which one what?"

"Who are you damning? 'Cause really, this is all Madoka's fault." Something between a squeak and a cough came out of Homura, and she tried to take a swing at Sayaka, but the blunette easily levered her out of the way. "No, seriously, look at it, if Madoka hadn't been so kind, and caring, and selfless, our Incubator would have never gotten corrupted, and none of this would have ever happened.

"!" came the reply. Then, when she could speak once more, Homura added, "That's not fair."

"Fair? Nah, probably not. I don't feel like being fair right now though, Kyoko is probably going to get herself killed and there's nothing I can do! And if I changed her so she didn't keep doing stuff like that, she wouldn't be the girl I love anymore."

"So what are you saying?" replied Homura, trying to pull herself together.

"Look, Madoka's Wish caused her to suck up all that stuff instead of us. That's who she is. That's how she rolls. If you can't handle that, then when this is all over, you should probably look at getting a new girlfriend. Speaking of which, I might have a slightly-used redhead for sale." Homura gulped like a landed fish for a moment, but then with an act of will, she settled back into her "Frost Queen" mien.

"If that is your idea of slightly used, I would hate to see what you would consider 'well-worn'." replied Homura archly.

"Hah! You can't be that bad off, if you're still cracking jokes like that."

"Indeed," Homura then snatched up Sayaka's hand.

"How very touching," Satori snarled. Her sarcastic reply was punctuated by the concussive _boom_ of Gretchin further reducing the nearby cover to fine dust. "Far be it from me to be a spoilsport, but would you all mind moving this little love-in somewhere else? Your girlfriend's aim is improving."

* * *

"Do you find it inconvenient, having converted to Taoism, Taishi-chan?" Byakuren put the question to Miko while simultaneously dodging past a wraith shrouded in cold fog. The living saint was keeping all her focus on the ground battle and ignoring the fireworks overhead. It wasn't difficult, between the hateful wraiths and the few remaining Purifier forces having returned to heap more misery upon the Gensokyans.

"Not particularly. May I ask what brings this up now?" Miko replied, taking a moment to head-fake one of the scourge-type wraiths and then spit it upon her blade. A twist and shove disintegrated the Familiar, then Miko was slamming her sword into its' sheath and tumbling out of the way of a howling blast from yet another of the Walpurgis' familiars.

"Simply the fact that we are going to be leaving this mortal coil in about 10 minutes, so wouldn't it be better to follow a faith that believes in reincarnation?" Miko grimaced and then spun on her heel and lit off a _Guze Flash_, which exploded in the face of a Warlock moments before the monstrosity could shoot down Byakuren.

"If you don't watch your ass, _Sensei_, then you most definitely will be dying here!" Miko grounded her sword and opened the taps all the way, and the Warlock promptly succumbed to entropy.

"I believe you are doing quite an adequate job of that, my dear." replied Byakuren.

"Are you accusing me of lechery?! I might actually take offense to that!"

"Taishi-chan, you should know that not much other than a variance in hair color differentiates you from Kyoko Sakura."

"Bloody hellfire! Do you really think so little of me?"

"On the contrary, I think you should be proud to compare to someone as energetic, courageous, and tenacious as that girl. If her passions happen to run wild, well-" Byakuren was interrupted as the world was rocked by the _crack_ of a home run hit multiplied by a thousand as the Walpurgis managed to get in a solid hit with her improvised weapon. Utsuho hit the flagstones terribly hard, and there was no immediate movement in the crater.

_Divine Arts ~ High Noon Sunshine_

Reimu fed all her terror, her anger, and the pent-up tension accumulated from the course of the Incident into one almighty invocation of her new goddess, and this time the clouds fled for good as her Spellcard returned the sun to the sky. The punishing brilliance was enough to push back the Walpurgis, but still the uber-Witch stood, now giving voice to a growl of anger that matched the pitch of grinding gears.

Byakuren saw it wasn't going to be enough. Walpurgis' Familiars were already converging on the crater where Utsuho struggled to gather her wits. Her apotheosis, along with her infernal steel armor, kept the Sun Goddess from being reduced to a pulp by the hit, but she needed time to get back into the fight. Face set in a grim mask, the living saint drew her last Spellcard, aimed, and cast. "_Great Magic ~ Devil's Recitation!_" The spell, a signature of the Queen of Makai herself, was nothing short of brutal, and it annihilated several Familiars almost instantly. _Strange, they don't seem to bother with defenses- oh no!_

The Familiars were in fact not concerned with their own safety, for if things went the way the Walpurgis planned, they would be dead in moments anyway. Instead, the vicious wraiths concentrated on holding Utsuho down as the giant Witch raised the massive tree high above, preparing to pile-drive the hell raven into oblivion. In the last moment, a smile crossed Byakuren's face as she caught Reimu's eye, as they both rushed to try and interpose themselves between the downed hell raven and the killing blow.

"Oh, that simply will not do. You are not permitted to die here Hijiri, I simply cannot let you go on thinking that is how that spell should look. Here, allow me!" With her seven wings arrayed in the form of an archangel at war, Shinki flung her erstwhile "student" aside and drew in dark power. "_Recitation!_" cried the Queen of Hell, and at her command, hellfire streaked skyward. The tree was burned to ash by the strike, as was a portion of Walpurgis' hand. And then, before the uber-Witch could gather itself for another strike, two intersecting beams of eye-searing radiance speared Walpurgis' head.

"Treekiller! _HOW DARE YOU!_" Yuuka drew her form back together after unleashing the Double Spark, but her anger wasn't dimmed in the slightest for having disfigured her foe. Drinking in the full light of the exposed sun, Yuuka turned and spitted the Walpurgis with her signature shot again, only when that beam faded away, another Master Spark crashed into the wounded Witch from across the sky. Marisa shot a fierce grin as she took stock of the damage done to the Walpurgis and swooped down to join the fray.

Utsuho blinked twice and was rewarded with the fuzzy, flashing blue blob in front of her eyes resolving itself into a blue sky and a Reimu, looking down into the hell raven's impact crater with a worried expression on her face. The curious flashes were explained a moment later when Marisa streaked overhead on an attack run, lashing out with seven kinds of hell. _Oh good, they didn't get too crispy when I ascended. That'll help,_ thought the Sun Goddess as the other fighters from Kappa Village started to stream in.

"You okay?" Reimu asked as she pulled her new goddess out of the hole.

"Yeah. Haven't been hit that hard in a while though." To Reimu's exceedingly dubious look, Utsuho replied, "Miss Satori took me on a PR tour after the initial Incident, thinking if people got to know me, they wouldn't be so afraid of me. We ended up at at an Oni's birthday party . . ."

"Ouch. Say no more."

"Yeah. Now, how do we kill that monster?" Utsuho glared up at the Walpurgis, which was confounded for the moment by the high-speed antics of Marisa and Youmu, the latter having just announced her presence by slicing a chunk off the uber-Witch.

"It won't be easy." Mami tore her eyes away from the fight, worry on her face. "We need to destroy the Grief Seed that is her heart. You don't have the ability to do what we did last time, so I suppose we're going to have to blast her completely apart."

"You know, I might have an idea for that," said Miko, which made her the instant center of attention. "What? Is there something on my face?"

* * *

"No, that's not it either . . . " Madoka furiously scrubbed at her paper, trying to erase what she had written when the paper was snatched right out from beneath her. The pink-haired girl tracked the paper with dismay on her face as it left the desk and then transformed into a lopsided ball in Kyoko's hands, and then she let out a squeal of outrage as the test went on a final arcing journey to the wastebasket by the teacher's podium.

"Hey! That's not very nice!"

"Yep, I know. Just one of the many perks of being me." Kyoko grinned, and then fished out a fresh box of Pocky (_Score one for dreamland, all the free food you can imagine!_) and tore into it. "Want some?" Madoka pouted for another minute, but then she fell prey to the lure of chocolate and accepted Kyoko's offer.

"So, what is this whole 'Heaven' business anyway? You seem pretty bent on it."

"I'm trying to figure out where is Heaven, and then everyone can go there, and there won't be any more pain and suffering."

"Pssh, that's easy. Heaven is where the weather's always perfect, and there's an endless amount of sunny beaches by the ocean and you can just lay back and party all the time."

"Kyoko-chan, that's Okinawa."

"Same difference." replied Kyoko, sticking her tongue out.

"C'mon, be serious!"

"I am, Pinkie, it's you who has the problem."

"Well, er, that's . . . Actually, can I ask a question? How come Sayaka-chan hasn't strangled you yet?"

"Funny, she asks me the same thing about every other morning."

"That's not funny!" Madoka shot back, her pout deepening to the "dangerously cute" level.

"Neither is this," replied Kyoko, sweeping her arm around to indicate the dreamscape they both occupied. "So you want to take everybody to Heaven. Fine. Whose do we go to?"

"Bwah?" was the semi-coherent reply.

"Well, Sayaka is a twice-a-year Shinto, and I'm a kinda-sorta-not-really Christian, so are we even gonna end up the same place? Cause that doesn't sound much like a Heaven to me, having to leave her behind. And does Nova even get to go to Heaven? I bet Incubator Heaven is just some storage tank they get slurped into when the big smoke-y pricks are done with 'em." The look on Madoka's face suggested that Kyoko had run over her pet cat, and was now backing up for another go.

"S-so what are you saying?"

"I'm saying you can't just push a button and get what you want. Besides, what is this 'Heaven' you're looking for, anyway?"

"I-I want a place, where we can all live in peace, love, and happiness."

"Mmm, sounds nice. I'd definitely like to go there. But y'know, I'm really not that bright, and I haven't been an optimist in a long time. You'd have to show me what a place like that is like."

"But I don't know where it is! If I knew, I wouldn't have this problem!"

"That, I can't help you with. Sorry. Although, you know, funny thing. I was talking to Melons the other day, and she told me about this crazy thing her boss thinks- apparently she thinks the point of Hell isn't to punish sinners, but to make it so there are no sinners. Weird, huh?"

"Yeah . . ." The wheels began to turn for Madoka, and a slow smile spread across Kyoko's face. "So maybe Heaven isn't what we think it is, either. All I want is a place where my friends can be happy and be at peace." Madoka closed her eyes, squeezing out a handful of tears. "What I want is to _make_ a place where that can happen."

BGM: Syrufit - White Clear - "Comouflage"

Madoka opened her eyes. Beautiful, happy, sad golden eyes that saw Homura first of all, on her knees and crying tears of joy.

"Welcome back, Madoka." Kyoko clapped the pink-haired girl on the shoulder before being crushed herself by Sayaka's tackle-hug.

"don't you ever do that to me again I don't care if there was a good reason I'm sorry I tried to scare you the other day just please don't do that again!" All Kyoko could do was hang on until the torrent stopped, then she pulled Sayaka into a proper hug and just stood there, bathed in the varicolored radiance of their rebounding Soul Gems.

But not everyone was happy to see Madoka returned to the land of the living. "No! This will not happen again! I refuse!" The Overseer's substance rippled and writhed in echo of his outrage. "I'll not see another harvest turn against us, not on my watch! I will destroy this miserable planet first if I must!" The shadows deepened and were drawn to the body of the Overseer, and a disturbing subsonic rumble, like that of the translocation portal, filled the air.

Madoka stepped to Homura first, dropping to her knees for a quick kiss and a hug to assure her love that she was back, she was real. Then the golden-eyed girl turned to face the Overseer. "I am sorry, that you suffer so. I wish it could have gone differently." Brilliant rose light poured from Madoka's Soul Gem in her hand, driving back the shadows, and the Overseer found a measure of enlightenment as well, giving voice to a tiny "oh," as the realization struck. Madoka drew out a Spellcard.

"_Terrible Weight ~ Swordbearer's Curse!_"

* * *

_**Do you see, dear Hitomi, how your friends still struggle against their fate? Isn't it delicious?**_ Hitomi convulsed with uncontrolled terror as Ragnarok stalked outside her cage, the monstrous pressure of his true form causing her mind to quail and thrash desperately for safety. "Y-you won't succeed," the green-haired Puella Magi finally replied, once she could speak.

_**Oh, but I already have! With Unit 003 out of the way, I am assured a place in the Communion, and with those weak-minded wretches under my yoke, none in this whole galaxy shall match my power!**_

Tittering laughter was the last thing the being who was known as "Ragnarok" expected from his guest. Nevertheless, Hitomi couldn't help but laugh wholeheartedly in her captor's face.

_**Please, enlighten me, what exactly is so funny about the imminent demise of your homeworld?**_

"If y-you think that raw power matters at all with them, then you've already lost. I know I have nothing to worry about for their sakes."

_**Then worry for yourself, little insect.**_

* * *

A/N: Whew! That one took a long time to lay out, for what the wordcount ended up being. As things stand, the next chapter should be the finale, and should be coming quicker than this one. I don't think that will be the last time we see the girls though, there might be a bit more madness brewing.


End file.
